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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 847 records · Page 47
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2025

Modeling of Vertical Motor-driven Pump for Simulation of a Fault Signature \\ for Condition Monitoring

As part of the ongoing effort to transition from preventive maintenance strategies to condition-based maintenance strategies in nuclear power plants, there is significant reliance on using machine learning techniques. To develop a robust machine learning model that can diagnose all the fault modes of a vertical motor-driven pump, data capturing the unique signature of each fault mode is required. In practice, it is difficult to collect or capture data that captures all the fault modes from a single plant site. So to address this situation, a computational model of a vertical motor-driven pump is developed using the multipurpose finite element software COMSOL Multiphysics. The developed model is used to generate simulated data under normal operation and is compared with the vibration data collected using vibration sensors. Once the simulation model is verified under normal operating condition, simulated data for the fault mode for which minimal or no evidence is available in historical plant process data is developed. This simulated data is used to develop fault signatures to achieve robust predictive models. This paper presents modeling details and verification of the model that can used to generate data for fault modes that are not available at a plant site for condition monitoring purpose.

46 - INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AN↗
NASA NTRS2016

Demonstration of Mars Crosslink Occultation Measurements for Future Small Spacecraft Constellations

Future planetary atmospheric profiling via radio occultations (RO) benefits significantly from increased received signal-to-noise ratio as well as geometrical coverage of links between two or more spacecraft in orbit around a target planet. These can be small spacecraft, possibly dedicated to quality radio-metrics with precision clock reference. Motivated by long-term research investigating the optimum SNR for the science performance, the optimum reference clock stability, the number and combination of wavelengths driving the number of transmitters and antennas, the optimum number and orbital spacecraft configuration, and design modifications to existing radio communication systems that would allow these new science objectives on future missions, three crosslink occultation experiments have been acquired between the Mars Odyssey and Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter spacecraft to probe the Martian atmosphere. While crosslink occultations between Earth orbiting satellites have long been used to profile the Earth’s atmosphere, this represents the first demonstration of crosslink occultation measurements at another planet. These measurements leverage the proximity link telecommunication payloads on each orbiter, which were designed to provide relay communication and navigation services to Mars landers and rovers. Analysis of the observed Doppler shift on each crosslink measurement reveals a clear signature of the Martian atmosphere, primarily the ionosphere. Inversion of the observed Doppler data yields vertical profiles of the Martian refractivity and electron density. The electron density profiles show the presence of two layers with peak densities and peak heights that are consistent with empirical models.

Asmar, Sami↗
DOE OSTI2020

Catchment storage and residence time in a periodically irrigated watershed

Understanding anthropogenic impacts on water storage and water flow pathways in catchments is an ongoing challenge in hydrology. Here, we study the dynamics of subsurface storage and residence time of water in a catchment in Berkeley, California, that is within a regional park but contains diverse land use within its perimeter, including a periodically irrigated golf course. Our study combines several isotopic tracers with water budget data to examine sources of water in a stream draining the site. Irrigation water, applied to a small area of the watershed, is a minor component of the water budget. However, geochemical tracers reveal that irrigation water is a significant fraction of stream flow downstream of the golf course during baseflow and during precipitation events. Isotopic tracers indicate that the watershed has a preference to release young water for stream flow generation, resulting in contrasting tritium ages for stream water and groundwater of 1.3 ± 0.5 year and 8.2 ± 1.7 year, respectively. We determined that the older water is a very small component (0.7%) of the stream water in the tail of an assumed exponential distribution. We used the seasonal variation of stable water isotopes in precipitation and stream water over two water years to explain the damping of the isotopic signature of stream water, which yields information about the catchment's response to the input signal. In conclusion, the methods described here may be applicable to other urban or suburban headwater catchments in areas with a component of non-natural recharge from, for example, leaky infrastructure, storm water routing or dry season irrigation.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2022

Hydrologic investigations of radar-rainfall error propagation to rainfall-runoff model hydrographs

Rainfall is arguably the most important yet most variable input for rainfall-runoff hydrologic models. In this study, the authors search for the characteristics of radar-rainfall estimates that are most important for skillful streamflow predictions. They perform comprehensive hydrologic investigations of radar-rainfall characteristics, including spatiotemporal resolution, radar range visibility, statistical characterization of rainfall variability, all vis-a-vis basin characteristics such as size and river network topology. Since the true rainfall fields are unknown, the authors exploit a paradigm of using two independently constructed radar-rainfall products i.e., Multi-Radar Multi-Sensor and IFC-ZR used operationally by the Iowa Flood Center (IFC). Using the distributed hydrologic model called the Hillslope-Link Model for the domain of the state of Iowa, they evaluate streamflow prediction at 140 USGS gauge stations that monitor rivers in Iowa. Through spatial and temporal rainfall aggregation experiments, the authors show that the impact of spatial and temporal resolution of rainfall is significant typically for smaller basins while starts reducing significantly for basins larger than 1,000 km 2 . Other rainfall characteristics they explored do not reveal a strong signature in the relationship of rainfall differences between the two products and hydrograph errors. However, exploring the product similarities rather than differences reveals that the basin-wide rainfall volume has the most significant effect on streamflow prediction. The results from this study are generalizable for all rainfall observing systems.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2016

Characterizations of double pulsing in neutron multiplicity and coincidence counting systems

Passive neutron coincidence/multiplicity counters are subject to non-ideal behavior, such as double pulsing and dead time. It has been shown in the past that double-pulsing exhibits a distinct signature in a Rossi-alpha distribution, which is not readily noticed using traditional Multiplicity Shift Register analysis. But, it has been assumed that the use of a pre-delay in shift register analysis removes any effects of double pulsing. Here, we use high-fidelity simulations accompanied by experimental measurements to study the effects of double pulsing on multiplicity rates. By exploiting the information from the double pulsing signature peak observable in the Rossi-alpha distribution, the double pulsing fraction can be determined. Algebraic correction factors for the multiplicity rates in terms of the double pulsing fraction have been developed. We also discuss the role of these corrections across a range of scenarios.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗
DOE OSTI2023

Chemical Signatures of Seasonally Unique Anthropogenic Influences on Organic Aerosol Composition in the Central Amazon

Urbanization and fires perturb the quantities and composition of fine organic aerosol in the central Amazon, with ramifications for radiative forcing and public health. These disturbances include not only direct emissions of particulates and secondary organic aerosol (SOA) precursors, but also changes in the pathways through which biogenic precursors form SOA. The composition of ambient organic aerosol is complex and incompletely characterized, encompassing millions of potential structures relatively few of which have been synthesized and characterized. Through analysis of submicron aerosol samples from the Green Ocean Amazon (GoAmazon2014/5) field campaign by two-dimensional gas chromatography coupled with machine learning, ~1300 unique compounds were traced and characterized over two seasons. Fires and urban emissions produced chemically and interseasonally distinct impacts on product signatures, with only ~50% of compounds observed in both seasons. Seasonally unique populations point to the importance of aqueous processing in Amazonian aerosol ageing, but further mechanistic insights are impeded by limited product identity knowledge. Further, less than 10% of compounds were identifiable at an isomer-specific level. Overall, the findings (i) provide compositional characterization of anthropogenic influence on submicron organic aerosol in the Amazon, (ii) identify key season-to-season differences in chemical signatures, and (iii) highlight high-priority knowledge gaps in current speciated knowledge.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2022

Vibrational fingerprints of ferroelectric HfO 2

Hafnia (HfO 2 ) is a promising material for emerging chip applications due to its high-κ dielectric behavior, suitability for negative capacitance heterostructures, scalable ferroelectricity, and silicon compatibility. The lattice dynamics along with phononic properties such as thermal conductivity, contraction, and heat capacity are under-explored, primarily due to the absence of high quality single crystals. Herein, we report the vibrational properties of a series of HfO 2 crystals stabilized with yttrium (chemical formula HfO2: xY, where x = 20, 12, 11, 8, and 0%) and compare our findings with a symmetry analysis and lattice dynamics calculations. We untangle the effects of Y by testing our calculations against the measured Raman and infrared spectra of the cubic, antipolar orthorhombic, and monoclinic phases and then proceed to reveal the signature modes of polar orthorhombic hafnia. This work provides a spectroscopic fingerprint for several different phases of HfO 2 and paves the way for an analysis of mode contributions to high-κ dielectric and ferroelectric properties for chip technologies.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2019

Time-strain separability in medium-amplitude oscillatory shear

Here, we derive and study equations for the weakly nonlinear medium-amplitude oscillatory shear (MAOS) response of materials exhibiting time-strain separability. Results apply to constitutive models with arbitrary linear memory function $\textit{m}$(s) and for both viscoelastic liquids and viscoelastic solids. The derived equations serve as a reference to identify which models are time-strain separable (TSS) and which may appear separable but are not, in the weakly nonlinear limit. More importantly, we study how the linear viscoelastic (LVE) relaxation spectrum, H($_\tau$), affects the frequency dependence of the TSS MAOS material functions. Continuous relaxation spectra are considered that are associated with analytical functions (log-normal and asymmetric Lorentzian distributions), fractional mechanical models (Maxwell and Zener), and molecular theories (Rouse and Doi-Edwards). TSS MAOS signatures reveal much more than just the perturbation parameter A in the shear damping function small-strain expansion, $h(_γ) = 1 + \text{A}_γ$$^2 + \mathcal{O}(_γ$$^4)$. Specifically, the distribution of terminal relaxation times is significantly more apparent in the TSS MAOS functions than their LVE counterparts. We theoretically show that this occurs because TSS MAOS material functions are sensitive to higher-order moments of the relaxation spectrum, which leads to the definition of MAOS liquids. We also show the first examples of MAOS signatures that differ from the liquid-like terminal MAOS behavior predicted by the fourth-order fluid expansion. This occurs when higher moments of the relaxation spectrum are not finite. The famous corotational Maxwell model is a subset of our results here, for which A = -1/6, and any LVE relaxation spectrum could be used.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2021

Barcoded reciprocal hemizygosity analysis via sequencing illuminates the complex genetic basis of yeast thermotolerance

Decades of successes in statistical genetics have revealed the molecular underpinnings of traits as they vary across individuals of a given species. But standard methods in the field cannot be applied to divergences between reproductively isolated taxa. Genome-wide reciprocal hemizygosity mapping (RH-seq), a mutagenesis screen in an interspecies hybrid background, holds promise as a method to accelerate the progress of interspecies genetics research. Here, we describe an improvement to RH-seq in which mutants harbor barcodes for cheap and straightforward sequencing after selection in a condition of interest. As a proof of concept for the new tool, we carried out genetic dissection of the difference in thermotolerance between two reproductively isolated budding yeast species. Experimental screening identified dozens of candidate loci at which variation between the species contributed to the thermotolerance trait. Hits were enriched for mitosis genes and other housekeeping factors, and among them were multiple loci with robust sequence signatures of positive selection. Together, these results shed new light on the mechanisms by which evolution solved the problems of cell survival and division at high temperature in the yeast clade, and they illustrate the power of the barcoded RH-seq approach.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2020

Scattering Signatures of Bond-Dependent Magnetic Interactions

Bond-dependent magnetic interactions can generate exotic phases such as Kitaev spin-liquid states. Experimentally determining the values of bond-dependent interactions is a challenging but crucial problem. In this paper, I show that each symmetry-allowed nearest-neighbor interaction on triangular and honeycomb lattices has a distinct signature in paramagnetic neutron-diffraction data, and that such data contain sufficient information to determine the spin Hamiltonian unambiguously via unconstrained fits. Moreover, I show that bond-dependent interactions can often be extracted from powder-averaged data. These results facilitate experimental determination of spin Hamiltonians for materials that do not show conventional magnetic ordering.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2016

Relationships between water and paddlefish Polyodon spathula dentary elemental and stable-isotopic signatures: potential application for reconstructing environmental history

The objectives of this study were to characterize relationships between water and paddlefish Polyodon spathula dentary Sr:Ca, δ 18 O and stable hydrogen isotope ratio (δD) to determine the accuracy with which individual P. spathula could be assigned to their collection locations using dentary-edge Sr:Ca, δD and δ 18 O. A laboratory experiment was also conducted to determine whether dentary Sr:Ca in age 0 year P. spathula would reflect shifts in water Sr:Ca to which fish were exposed. Significant linear relationships between water and dentary Sr:Ca, δD and δ 18 O were observed, although the relationship between water and dentary δ 18 O was weaker than those for Sr:Ca and δD. Classification success for individual fish to collection locations that differed in water Sr:Ca, δD and δ 18 O ranged from 86 to 100% based on dentary-edge Sr:Ca, δD and δ18O. Dentary Sr:Ca increased significantly in laboratory-reared age 0 year P. spathula following 4 weeks of exposure to elevated water Sr:Ca; dentary Sr:Ca of fish held in water with elevated Sr:Ca was also significantly higher than that of control fish reared in ambient laboratory water. Results indicated that P. spathula dentaries reflect water signatures for commonly-applied natural chemical markers and strongly suggest that dentary microchemistry and stable-isotopic compositions will be applicable for reconstructing P. spathula environmental history in locations where sufficient spatial differences in water chemistry occur.

07 ISOTOPE AND RADIATION SOURCES↗
DOE OSTI2021

X-ray Studies of the CDW Ground State and Excitations in High- T C Cuprates

We report charge density wave (CDW) in high-T C cuprates has drawn a lot of attention in the field. In this article, we review some of our recent x-ray studies about the ground state and the excitation spectrum of the CDW. Using high magnetic field to suppress the superconductivity, a three-dimensionally-ordered charge stripe state emerges in YBa 2 Cu 3 O 6+x at low temperatures, which arguably bears the characteristics of the CDW ground state. Regarding excitation spectrum, we utilized the state-of-the-art soft x-ray resonant inelastic scattering (RIXS) and found signatures of dispersive CDW excitations which manifest as some form of interference with the RIXS phonon excitations. This observation provides a new perspective to study the relationship between the CDW, the superconductivity and the putative quantum criticality inside the superconducting dome of the cuprate phase diagram. Within this context, relevant recent experimental studies are also briefly discussed.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
NASA NTRS2016

Similarities Across Mars: Acidic Fluids at Both Meridiani Planum and Gale Crater in the Formation of Magnesium-Nickel Sulfates

In-situ identification of sulfates at the martian surface by the Mars Exploration Rovers and the Mars Science Laboratory have included calcium sulfates with various states of hydration (gypsum, bassanite, anhydrite), iron sulfates of likely fumarolic origin, massive deposits of iron hydroxysulfates indicative of an acidic history, and minor occurrences of magnesium sulfates. Recent measurements by the Opportunity and Curiosity Alpha Particle X-ray Spectrometers (APXS) have indicated the presence of Ni-substituted Mg-sulfates at the Meridiani Planum and Gale Crater landing sites. The Opportunity rover has traversed nearly 43 km and is currently exploring the impact breccias of the rim of Endeavour crater, near a location where signatures of aqueous alteration have been established from orbit. APXS analyses of subsurface materials excavated by a rover wheel show clear evidence for a Mg(Ni)-sulfate with Mg:Ni (is) approximately 100:1 (molar). On the other side of the planet, Curiosity is continuing its climb up Mount Sharp after driving (is) approximately 13 km since landing. Over the last 4 km of the traverse, there have been multiple chemical analyses of erosionally-resistant nodules and dendritic features in a finely laminated mudstone unit which also indicate Mg(Ni)-sulfate (Mg:Ni (is) approximately 30:1, molar). The geologic settings for the Endeavour rim and the Mount Sharp mudstones are clearly different, but similar formation conditions for these sulfates may be possible. Ni(2+) readily substitutes for Mg(2+) in a variety of geochemical processes due to their comparable ionic radii. The availability of soluble Ni at the time of Mg-sulfate precipitation suggests acidic solutions. The fluids responsible for alteration in the Endeavour rim and for the formation of nodules in Gale mudstones may have had similar chemical characteristics at the time the Mg-sulfates were formed.

Yen, Albert S.↗
DOE OSTI2023

Predicting fatigue from heart rate signatures using functional logistic regression

Physical fatigue can have adverse effects on humans in extreme environments. Therefore, being able to predict fatigue using easy to measure metrics such as heart rate (HR) signatures has potential to have an impact in real-life scenarios. We apply a functional logistic regression model that uses HR signatures to predict physical fatigue, where physical fatigue is defined in a data-driven manner. Data were collected using commercially available wearable devices on 47 participants hiking the 20.7-mile Grand Canyon rim-to-rim trail in a single day. Fitted model provides good predictions and interpretable parameters for real-life application.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2023

Little vertical and circumferential variations in stem xylem water Δ 2 H and Δ 18 O in three tree species

Vertical and circumferential patterns of xylem water isotope signatures in large trees are rarely characterized but may influence interpretation of water source investigations and soil/xylem water isotope offsets. Furthermore, to examine vertical and circumferential variation in xylem water δ 2 H and δ 18 O, we collected xylem tissue at 5 heights (0, 1, 4, 7 and 10 m) from three replicate trees of three species with contrasting xylem anatomy, two angiosperms (Liquidambar styraciflua and Quercus nigra) and one gymnosperm (Pinus taeda). Concurrently, we also determined δ 2 H and δ 18 O of groundwater, soil water, and recent precipitation. On a different day, we collected circumferential samples at 1 m from the same trees to test for sectorality effects. Water from stem and soil samples were cryogenically extracted and analyzed for δ 2 H and δ 18 O. Mean xylem water δ 2 H and δ 18 O were significantly different between species, both vertically and circumferentially. We did not find significant (p = 0.05) systematic variation in δ 2 H or δ 18 O with height. We found no significant evidence for sectorality effects on δ 2 H, δ 18 O. Variances of vertical synoptic xylem water δ 2 H or δ 18 O were similar between species, 7.2–10.4‰ for δ 2 H and 0.58–0.81‰ for δ 18 O. Circumferential variances were also similar between species, 4.0–6.0 for δ 2 H and 0.37–0.44 for δ 18 O. A mixing model showed that sweetgum, water oak and loblolly pine, were drawing most of their water from deep soil from 45 to 190 cm (84.7, 68.4 and 53.2%, respectively) however, soil water-excess values indicate δ 2 H fractionation effects on these estimates. Dual isotope mixing model evaluation with single and multiple sample configurations showed that source water estimates were not affected by within tree variability of xylem water signatures. Xylem water δ 2 H and δ 18 O variability with height or circumference, was 3.2 and 2.7 times less than between tree variation because of transient temporal and spatial processes and is, therefore, not likely to affect interpretations of water sourcing in these three species.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2018

STAT3 as a promising chemoresistance biomarker associated with the CD44+/high/CD24-/low/ALDH+ BCSCs-like subset of the triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) cell line

The cancer stem cell (CSC) concept is currently employed to explain the mechanism of multidrug resistance that is implicated in the reduced efficacy of many chemotherapeutic agents, consequently leading to metastatic spread and disease relapse. We searched for potential predictive markers of doxorubicin (DOX) resistance in breast cancer stem cells (BCSCs) of the BT-549 human triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) cell line classified as a claudin-low subtype. In this study, we show that BT-549 presents a BCSCs-like subset determined by a CD44{sup +/high}/CD24{sup -/low}/ALDH1{sup +} phenotype. The CD44{sup +/high}/CD24{sup -/low}/ALDH{sup +} BCSCs-like subset presented the downregulation of a majority of the genes analyzed (64 genes), and only 3 genes were upregulated after DOX treatment. Among the upregulated genes, MAPK3, PRKCZ and STAT3, STAT3 presented a higher level of upregulation in the DOX-treated CD44{sup +/high}/CD24{sup -/low}/ALDH{sup +} BCSCs-like subset. The identification of biomarkers that predict antitumor responses is at the top of cancer research priorities. STAT3 was highlighted as a molecular signature in the CD44{sup +/high}/CD24{sup -/low}/ALDH1{sup +} BCSCs-like subset obtained from the TNBC BT-549 cell line related to DOX resistance. A majority of the evaluated genes in the EGF pathway appear to be not associated with DOX resistance, as observed in the CD44{sup +/high}/CD24{sup -/low}/ALDH1{sup +} BCSCs-like subset.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2017

Self-compensation in arsenic doping of CdTe

Efficient p-type doping in CdTe has remained a critical challenge for decades, limiting the performance of CdTe-based semiconductor devices. Arsenic is a promising p-type dopant; however, reproducible doping with high concentration is difficult and carrier lifetime is low. We systematically studied defect structures in As-doped CdTe using high-purity single crystal wafers to investigate the mechanisms that limit p-type doping. Two As-doped CdTe with varying acceptor density and two undoped CdTe were grown in Cd-rich and Te-rich environments. The defect structures were investigated by thermoelectric-effect spectroscopy (TEES), and first-principles calculations were used for identifying and assigning the experimentally observed defects. Measurements revealed activation of As is very low in both As-doped samples with very short lifetimes indicating strong compensation and the presence of significant carrier trapping defects. Defect studies suggest two acceptors and one donor level were introduced by As doping with activation energies at ~88 meV, ~293 meV and ~377 meV. In particular, the peak shown at ~162 K in the TEES spectra is very prominent in both As-doped samples, indicating a signature of AX-center donors. In conclusion, the AX-centers are believed to be responsible for most of the compensation because of their low formation energy and very prominent peak intensity in TEES spectra.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗