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At least 793 records · Page 44

Ensemble averaged structure–function relationship for nanocrystals: effective superparamagnetic Fe clusters with catalytically active Pt skin [Ensemble averaged structure-function relationship for composite nanocrystals: magnetic bcc Fe clusters with catalytically active fcc Pt skin]

Practical applications require the production and usage of metallic nanocrystals (NCs) in large ensembles. Besides, due to their cluster-bulk solid duality, metallic NCs exhibit a large degree of structural diversity. This poses the question as to what atomic-scale basis is to be used when the structure–function relationship for metallic NCs is to be quantified precisely. In this paper, we address the question by studying bi-functional Fe core-Pt skin type NCs optimized for practical applications. In particular, the cluster-like Fe core and skin-like Pt surface of the NCs exhibit superparamagnetic properties and a superb catalytic activity for the oxygen reduction reaction, respectively. We determine the atomic-scale structure of the NCs by non-traditional resonant high-energy X-ray diffraction coupled to atomic pair distribution function analysis. Using the experimental structure data we explain the observed magnetic and catalytic behavior of the NCs in a quantitative manner. Lastly, we demonstrate that NC ensemble-averaged 3D positions of atoms obtained by advanced X-ray scattering techniques are a very proper basis for not only establishing but also quantifying the structure–function relationship for the increasingly complex metallic NCs explored for practical applications.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Isosurface Extraction in Time-Varying Fields Using a Temporal Hierarchical Index Tree

Many high-performance isosurface extraction algorithms have been proposed in the past several years as a result of intensive research efforts. When applying these algorithms to large-scale time-varying fields, the storage overhead incurred from storing the search index often becomes overwhelming. this paper proposes an algorithm for locating isosurface cells in time-varying fields. We devise a new data structure, called Temporal Hierarchical Index Tree, which utilizes the temporal coherence that exists in a time-varying field and adoptively coalesces the cells' extreme values over time; the resulting extreme values are then used to create the isosurface cell search index. For a typical time-varying scalar data set, not only does this temporal hierarchical index tree require much less storage space, but also the amount of I/O required to access the indices from the disk at different time steps is substantially reduced. We illustrate the utility and speed of our algorithm with data from several large-scale time-varying CID simulations. Our algorithm can achieve more than 80% of disk-space savings when compared with the existing techniques, while the isosurface extraction time is nearly optimal.

Shen, Han-Wei↗

Microgrid Communications Using the Open-Source Open Field Message Bus (OpenFMB) Framework Applied to a 480V, 100kW Laboratory Microgrid

Microgrids require an extensive communication infrastructure to allow interoperability between the microgrid controller and assets. However, the lack of standardization of data structures combined with the variety of communication protocols poses several challenges to the implementation of a communication network. This paper presents an application of the open-source Open Field Message Bus (OpenFMB) framework to simplify the communication layer in microgrids. This work leverages the OpenFMB protocol translation and data model extensions to reduce the complexity in the microgrid communications. Conducted in a laboratory microgrid, the case study demonstrates how the OpenFMB provides predefined data models and simplifies the communication layer by providing information exchange between multiple legacy communication protocols.

Ferrari Maglia, Max↗

Algorithms for Efficient Reproducible Floating Point Summation

We define “reproducibility” as getting bitwise identical results from multiple runs of the same program, perhaps with different hardware resources or other changes that should not affect the answer. Many users depend on reproducibility for debugging or correctness. However, dynamic scheduling of parallel computing resources, combined with nonassociative floating point addition, makes reproducibility challenging even for summation, or operations like the BLAS. We describe a “reproducible accumulator” data structure (the “binned number”) and associated algorithms to reproducibly sum binary floating point numbers, independent of summation order. We use a subset of the IEEE Floating Point Standard 754-2008 and bitwise operations on the standard representations in memory. Our approach requires only one read-only pass over the data, and one reduction in parallel, using a 6-word reproducible accumulator (more words can be used for higher accuracy), enabling standard tiling optimization techniques. Summing n words with a 6-word reproducible accumulator requires approximately 9 n floating point operations (arithmetic, comparison, and absolute value) and approximately 3 n bitwise operations. The final error bound with a 6-word reproducible accumulator and our default settings can be up to 2 29 times smaller than the error bound for conventional (recursive) summation on ill-conditioned double-precision inputs.

Computer Science↗

Block rotations in the Rio Grande Rift, New Mexico

Paleomagnetic data from 13 sites of intrusive and extrusive rocks associated with the Oligocene Espinaso Formation around the Ortiz mountains, New Mexico, indicate mean magnetic directions of I = 42.1 deg and D = 337.8 deg, with a corresponding pole position of 67.9 deg N latitude and 142.3 deg E longitude. From comparison with the expected Oligocene direction, 17.8 + or - 11.3 deg of counterclockwise rotation is found, and the similar rotations for Oligocene and Pliocene age rocks suggests that motion has occurred in the past 5 m.y. Data support the previously suggested diamond-shaped crustal block extending from the San Luis basin southward to the Albuquerque basin bounded by well-defined recently active fault zones. The size of the block, the counterclockwise nature of rotation and the timing of motion are supported by geologic and structural data. The counterclockwise rotation of the block has resulted in uplift at the acute ends of the block and subsidence at the obtuse ends, and the driving mechanism may be left slip along the rift.

Brown, L. L.↗

GPS and Galileo Developments on Board the International Space Station With the Space Communications and Navigation (SCaN) Testbed

The Space Communications and Navigation (SCaN) is a facility developed by NASA and hosted on board the International Space Station (ISS) on an external truss since 2013.It has the objective of testing navigation and communication experimentations with a Software Defined Radio (SDR) approach, which permits software updates for testing new experimentations.NASA has developed the Space Telecommunications Radio System (STRS) architecture standard for SDRs used in space and ground-based platforms to provide commonality among radio developments to provide enhanced capability. The hardware is equipped with both L band front-end radios and the NASA space network communicates with it using S-band, Ku-band and Ka-band links.In May 2016 Qascom started GARISS (GPS and Galileo Receiver for the ISS), an activity of experimentation in collaboration with ESA and NASA that has the objective to develop and validate the acquisition and processing of combined GPS and Galileo signals on board the ISS SCaN testbed. This paper has the objective to present the mission, and provide preliminary details about the challenges in the design, development and verification of the waveform that will be installed on equipment with limited resources. GARISS is also the first attempt to develop a waveform for the ISS as part of an international collaboration between US and Europe. Although the final mission objective is to target dual frequency processing, initial operations will foresee a single frequency processing. Initial results and trade-off between the two options, as well as the final decision will be presented and discussed. The limited resources on board the SCaN with respect to the challenging requirements to acquire and track contemporaneously two satellite navigation systems, with different modulations and data structure, led to the need to assess the possibility of aiding from ground through the S-band. This option would allow assistance to the space receiver in order to provide knowledge of GNSS orbits and reduce the processing on board. Trade off and various options for telemetry and uplink data are presented and discussed. Finally, integration and validation of the waveform are one of the major challenges of GARISS: The Experiment Development System (EDS) and the the Ground Integration Unit (GIU) for VV will be used prior to conducting the experiment on the ISS. The EDS can be used in lab environment and allows prototyping and verification activities with the simulator, but does not include all hardware components. The GIU on the other side is the flight model which replicates the flying equipment, but has limited flexibility for testing.As conclusion, the project is now approaching the Preliminary Design Review (PDR) and indeed only preliminary results are available. This paper is an opportunity to present the GARISS mission as part of an International cooperation between ESA, NASA and Qascom. The preliminary results include GPS and Galileo processing from space signals, the challenges and trade off decisions, the high level STRS architecture and foreseen experimentation campaign. Detailed results from the test campaigns are expected in 2017.

space navigation↗

Defining the Relationship Between Human Error Classes and Technology Intervention Strategies

One of the main factors in all aviation accidents is human error. The NASA Aviation Safety Program (AvSP), therefore, has identified several human-factors safety technologies to address this issue. Some technologies directly address human error either by attempting to reduce the occurrence of errors or by mitigating the negative consequences of errors. However, new technologies and system changes may also introduce new error opportunities or even induce different types of errors. Consequently, a thorough understanding of the relationship between error classes and technology "fixes" is crucial for the evaluation of intervention strategies outlined in the AvSP, so that resources can be effectively directed to maximize the benefit to flight safety. The purpose of the present project, therefore, was to examine the repositories of human factors data to identify the possible relationship between different error class and technology intervention strategies. The first phase of the project, which is summarized here, involved the development of prototype data structures or matrices that map errors onto "fixes" (and vice versa), with the hope of facilitating the development of standards for evaluating safety products. Possible follow-on phases of this project are also discussed. These additional efforts include a thorough and detailed review of the literature to fill in the data matrix and the construction of a complete database and standards checklists.

Wiegmann, Douglas A.↗

Structure of the HIV-1 Full-Length Capsid Protein in a Conformationally Trapped Unassembled State Induced by Small-Molecule Binding

The capsid (CA) protein plays crucial roles in HIV infection and replication, essential to viral maturation. The absence of high-resolution structural data on unassembled CA hinders the development of antivirals effective in inhibiting assembly. Unlike enzymes that have targetable, functional substrate-binding sites, the CA does not have a known site that affects catalytic or other innate activity, which can be more readily targeted in drug development efforts. We report the crystal structure of the HIV-1 CA, revealing the domain organization in the context of the wild-type full-length (FL) unassembled CA. The FL CA adopts an antiparallel dimer configuration, exhibiting a domain organization sterically incompatible with capsid assembly. A small compound, generated in situ during crystallization, is bound tightly at a hinge site ('H site'), indicating that binding at this interdomain region stabilizes the ADP conformation. Electron microscopy studies on nascent crystals reveal both dimeric and hexameric lattices coexisting within a single condition, in agreement with the interconvertibility of oligomeric forms and supporting the feasibility of promoting assembly-incompetent dimeric states. Solution characterization in the presence of the H-site ligand shows predominantly unassembled dimeric CA, even under conditions that promote assembly. Our structure elucidation of the HIV-1 FL CA and characterization of a potential allosteric binding site provides three-dimensional views of an assembly-defective conformation, a state targeted in, and thus directly relevant to, inhibitor development. Based on our findings, we propose an unprecedented means of preventing CA assembly, by 'conformationally trapping' CA in assembly-incompetent conformational states induced by H-site binding.

Du, Shoucheng↗

Fast Particle Methods for Multiscale Phenomena Simulations

We are developing particle methods oriented at improving computational modeling capabilities of multiscale physical phenomena in : (i) high Reynolds number unsteady vortical flows, (ii) particle laden and interfacial flows, (iii)molecular dynamics studies of nanoscale droplets and studies of the structure, functions, and evolution of the earliest living cell. The unifying computational approach involves particle methods implemented in parallel computer architectures. The inherent adaptivity, robustness and efficiency of particle methods makes them a multidisciplinary computational tool capable of bridging the gap of micro-scale and continuum flow simulations. Using efficient tree data structures, multipole expansion algorithms, and improved particle-grid interpolation, particle methods allow for simulations using millions of computational elements, making possible the resolution of a wide range of length and time scales of these important physical phenomena.The current challenges in these simulations are in : [i] the proper formulation of particle methods in the molecular and continuous level for the discretization of the governing equations [ii] the resolution of the wide range of time and length scales governing the phenomena under investigation. [iii] the minimization of numerical artifacts that may interfere with the physics of the systems under consideration. [iv] the parallelization of processes such as tree traversal and grid-particle interpolations We are conducting simulations using vortex methods, molecular dynamics and smooth particle hydrodynamics, exploiting their unifying concepts such as : the solution of the N-body problem in parallel computers, highly accurate particle-particle and grid-particle interpolations, parallel FFT's and the formulation of processes such as diffusion in the context of particle methods. This approach enables us to transcend among seemingly unrelated areas of research.

Koumoutsakos, P.↗

Capturing the generation and structural transformations of molecular ions

Molecular ions are ubiquitous and play pivotal roles in many reactions, particularly in the context of atmospheric and interstellar chemistry. However, their structures and conformational transitions, particularly in the gas phase, are less explored than those of neutral molecules owing to experimental difficulties. A case in point is the halonium ions, whose highly reactive nature and ring strain make them short-lived intermediates that are readily attacked even by weak nucleophiles and thus challenging to isolate or capture before they undergo further reaction. Here we show that mega-electronvolt ultrafast electron diffraction (MeV-UED), used in conjunction with resonance-enhanced multiphoton ionization, can monitor the formation of 1,3-dibromopropane (DBP) cations and their subsequent structural dynamics forming a halonium ion. We find that the DBP + cation remains for a substantial duration of 3.6 ps in aptly named ‘dark states’ that are structurally indistinguishable from the DBP electronic ground state. The structural data, supported by surface-hopping simulations and ab initio calculations, reveal that the cation subsequently decays to iso-DBP + , an unusual intermediate with a four-membered ring containing a loosely bound bromine atom, and eventually loses the bromine atom and forms a bromonium ion with a three-membered-ring structure. We anticipate that the approach used here can also be applied to examine the structural dynamics of other molecular ions and thereby deepen our understanding of ion chemistry.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

Tuning magnetic coercivity with external pressure in iron-rhenium based ferrimagnetic double perovskites

We studied the effect of physical pressure on the electronic and magnetic properties of ferrimagnetic double perovskites A 2 FeReO 6 (A = Ca, Ba) using Re L 2,3 edge x-ray absorption spectroscopy and powder diffraction measurements. Volume compression is shown to dramatically increase the magnetic coercivity (H c ) in polycrystalline samples of both compounds with ΔH c /ΔV similar to 150-200 Oe/Å 3 . A nearly eight-fold increase in H c , from 0.2 to 1.55 T, is obtained in Ba 2 FeReO 6 at P = 29 GPa. While no signs of structural phase transitions are seen in either sample to similar to 30 GPa, the structural data points to a pressure-driven increase in tetragonal distortion of ReO 6 octahedra. A sizable but pressure-independent Re orbital-to-spin magnetic moment ratio is observed, pointing to the critical role of spin-orbit interactions at Re sites. We present a J(eff) description of the electronic structure that combines effects of crystal field and spin-orbit coupling on the Re 5d 2 orbitals and use this description to provide insight into the pressure-induced enhancement of magnetic anisotropy.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

mzapy : An Open-Source Python Library Enabling Efficient Extraction and Processing of Ion Mobility Spectrometry-Mass Spectrometry Data in the MZA File Format

We have recently reported MZA, a new and simple mass spectrometry data structure based on the broadly supported HDF5 format and created to facilitate software development. While this format is inherently supportive of application development, the availability of a core library with standard mass spectrometry utilities greatly facilitates fast software development. Here, we present a Python library, mzapy, for efficient extraction and processing of mass spectrometry data in the MZA format. In addition to raw data extraction, mzapy contains supporting utilities enabling tasks including calibration, signal processing, peak finding, and generating plots. Being implemented in pure Python with minimal and largely standardized dependencies makes mzapy uniquely suited to application development in the multi-omics domain. The free and open source mzapy is built with extensibility in mind, and future development will support cloud computing and artificial intelligence/machine learning applications. The software source code is freely available at https://github.com/PNNL-m-q/mzapy.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

ECP Milestone Memo WBS 2.3.4.13 ECP/VTK-m FY18Q4 [MS-18/09-10] Dynamic Types / Rendering Topologies STDA05-16

The STDA05-16 milestone comprises the following 3 distinct deliverables. OpenMP VTK-m currently supports three types of devices: serial CPU, TBB, and CUDA. To run algorithms on multicore CPU-type devices (such as Xeon and Xeon Phi), TBB is required. However, there are known issues with integrating a software product using TBB with another one using OpenMP. Therefore, we will add an OpenMP device to the VTK-m software. When engaged, this device will run parallel algorithms using OpenMP directives. This will mesh more nicely with other code also using OpenMP. Rendering Topological Entities VTK-m currently supports surface rendering by tessellation of data structures,and rendering the resulting triangles. We will extend current functionality to include face, edge, and point rendering. Better Dynamic Types Impl For the best efficiency across all platforms, VTK-m algorithms use static typing with C++ templates. However, many libraries like VTK, ParaView, and Visit use dynamic types with virtual functions because data types often cannot be determined at compile time. We have an interface in VTK-m to merge these two typing mechanisms by generating all possible combinations of static types when faced with a dynamic type. Although this mechanism works, it generates very large executables and takes a very long time to compile. As we move forward, it is clear that these problems will get worse and become infeasible at exascale. We will rectify the problem by introducing some level of virtual methods, which require only a single code path, within VTK-m algorithms. This first milestone produces a design document to propose an approach to the new system.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗

Extending PETSc's Composable Hierarchical Solvers (Final Technical Report)

This report documents research activities conducted at CU Boulder as part of Extending PETSc’s Composable Hierarchical Solvers, which has been part of a collaboration with Argonne National Laboratory (separate award). Our work has focused on performance-portable end-to-end GPU solvers demonstrated via exemplary applications in nonlinear fluid and structural mechanics. We describe advances in algorithmic composition and analysis in the context of these applications, but the implementations are fully documented and decoupled, and in use by other projects. We believe the vertical integration achieved through collaboration with ECP’s CEED and the PSAAP center at CU was necessary to take risks with data structures and algorithms.

42 ENGINEERING↗

Development of Lightweight Structural Materials with Improved Properties for Fission Batteries

The notion of a “fission battery” conveys a vision focused on realizing very simple “plug-and-play” nuclear systems that can be integrated into a variety of applications requiring affordable, reliable energy in the form of electricity and/or heat and function without operations and maintenance staff. Fission batteries require lightweight structural materials to increase their mobility, and the lightweight materials must demonstrate structural resilience under various conditions. The objective of this work is to develop lattice structured lightweight structural material featuring a good combination of mechanical properties using advanced modeling and simulation together with an advanced additive manufacturing technique such as laser powder bed fusion. The preliminary results show that different lattice structures and types can be successfully meshed using nTopology software, and the lattice structure data can be successfully transformed to Multiphysics Object-Oriented Simulation (MOOSE) Environment input. Finite Element Analysis (FEA) displays that, at macro/engineering scale simulation, the weight saving design has an obvious effect on tensile behavior such as effective elastic modulus and yield stress. The novel approaches of this work are (1) development of lattice structures for improved mechanical properties using advanced simulation and modeling techniques; and (2) model predictions of the mechanical properties (e.g., strength and stress distribution) of macroscopic materials in order to preliminarily select a lattice structure for additive manufacturing.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

COMPUTER-AIDED LATTICE DESIGN AND ADVANCED MODELING FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF LIGHTWEIGHT STRUCTURAL MATERIALS

The notion of a “fission battery” conveys a vision focused on realizing very simple “plug-and-play” nuclear systems that can be integrated into a variety of applications requiring affordable, reliable energy in the form of electricity and/or heat and function without operations and maintenance staff. Fission batteries require lightweight structural materials to increase their mobility, and the lightweight materials must demonstrate structural resilience under various conditions. The objective of this work is to develop lattice structured lightweight structural material featuring a good combination of mechanical properties using advanced modeling and simulation together with an advanced additive manufacturing technique such as laser powder bed fusion. The preliminary results show that different lattice structures and types can be successfully meshed using nTopology software, and the lattice structure data can be successfully transformed to Multiphysics Object-Oriented Simulation (MOOSE) Environment input. Finite Element Analysis (FEA) displays that, at macro/engineering scale simulation, the weight saving design has an obvious effect on tensile behavior such as effective elastic modulus and yield stress. The novel approaches of this work are (1) development of lattice structures for improved mechanical properties using advanced simulation and modeling techniques; and (2) model predictions of the mechanical properties (e.g., strength and stress distribution) of macroscopic materials in order to preliminarily select a lattice structure for additive manufacturing.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Development of Lightweight Structural Materials with Improved Properties for Fission Batteries

The notion of a “fission battery” conveys a vision focused on realizing very simple “plug-and-play” nuclear systems that can be integrated into a variety of applications requiring affordable, reliable energy in the form of electricity and/or heat and function without operations and maintenance staff. Fission batteries require lightweight structural materials to increase their mobility, and the lightweight materials must demonstrate structural resilience under various conditions. The objective of this work is to develop lightweight structural material featuring a good combination of mechanical properties using advanced modeling and simulation together with an advanced additive manufacturing technique such as laser powder bed fusion. The preliminary results show that different lattice structures and types can be successfully meshed using nTopology software, and the lattice structure data can be successfully transformed to Multiphysics Object-Oriented Simulation Environment (MOOSE) input. Finite Element Analysis (FEA) displays that, at macro/engineering scale simulation, the weight saving design has an obvious effect on tensile behavior such as effective elastic modulus and yield stress. The novel approaches of this work are (1) development of optimized lattice structures for improved mechanical properties using advanced simulation and modeling techniques; and (2) model predictions of the mechanical properties (e.g., strength and stress distribution) of macroscopic materials in order to preliminarily select a lattice structure for additive manufacturing.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Improved treatment of exact exchange in Quantum ESPRESSO

Here, we present an algorithm and implementation for the parallel computation of exact exchange in Quantum ESPRESSO (QE) that exhibits greatly improved strong scaling. QE is an open-source software package for electronic structure calculations using plane wave density functional theory, and supports the use of local, semi-local, and hybrid DFT functionals. Wider application of hybrid functionals is desirable for the improved simulation of electronic band energy alignments and thermodynamic properties, but the computational complexity of evaluating the exact exchange potential limits the practical application of hybrid functionals to large systems and requires efficient implementations. We demonstrate that existing implementations of hybrid DFT that utilize a single data structure for both the local and exact exchange regions of the code are significantly limited in the degree of parallelization achievable. We present a band-pair parallelization approach, in which the calculation of exact exchange is parallelized and evaluated independently from the parallelization of the remainder of the calculation, with the wavefunction data being efficiently transformed on-the-fly into a form that is optimal for each part of the calculation. For a 64 water molecule supercell, our new algorithm reduces the overall time to solution by nearly an order of magnitude.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗