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At least 91 records · Page 5

Stone Content Influence on Land Surface Model Simulation of Soil Moisture and Evapotranspiration at Reynolds Creek Watershed

Considerable advancement in spatiotemporal resolution of remote sensing and ground-based measurements has enabled refinement of parameters used in land surface models for simulating surface water fluxes. However, land surface modeling capabilities are still inadequate for accurate representation of subsurface properties and processes, which continue to limit the accuracy of land surface model simulation. Our objective in this study was to examine the performance of the variously parameterized Noah-Multiphysics (Noah-MP) land surface model and to improve simulations of evapotranspiration (ET) and soil moisture dynamics in stony soils using verification from eddy covariance ET and in-situ soil moisture data. Meteorological and eddy covariance data from the Lower Sheep sub-catchment within the Reynolds Creek Experimental Watershed in Southwestern Idaho were employed to drive Noah-MP and to assess simulation results. We evaluated the performance of Noah-MP considering four different scenarios: (1) A one-layer soil profile with Noah-MP default soil hydraulic parameters, followed by five-layer soil profiles using -(2) Noah-MP default soil hydraulic parameters -(3) soil hydraulic parameters derived from a pedotransfer function using field observations, and -(4) hydraulic parameters from (3) which also accounted for stone content in each layer. Each modeling experiment was forced with the same set of initial conditions, atmospheric input and vegetation parameters. Our results indicated that enhanced representation of soil profile properties and stone content information noticeably improve the Noah-MP land surface model simulation of soil moisture content and evapotranspiration.

Land surface models, Soil hydrology, Noah-MP, Evap↗

Application of an automated machine learning-genetic algorithm (AutoML-GA) coupled with computational fluid dynamics simulations for rapid engine design optimization

In recent years, the use of machine learning-based surrogate models for computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations has emerged as a promising technique for reducing the computational cost associated with engine design optimization. However, such methods still suffer from drawbacks. One main disadvantage is that the default machine learning (ML) hyperparameters are often severely suboptimal for a given problem. This has often been addressed by manually trying out different hyperparameter settings, but this solution is ineffective in case of a high-dimensional hyperparameter space. Besides this problem, the amount of data needed for training is also not known a priori. In response to these issues that need to be addressed, the present work describes and validates an automated active learning approach, AutoML-GA, for surrogate-based optimization of internal combustion engines. In this approach, a Bayesian optimization technique is used to find the best machine learning hyperparameters based on an initial dataset obtained from a small number of CFD simulations. Subsequently, a genetic algorithm is employed to locate the design optimum on the ML surrogate surface. In the vicinity of the design optimum, the solution is refined by repeatedly running CFD simulations at the projected optima and adding the newly obtained data to the training dataset. It is demonstrated that AutoML-GA leads to a better optimum with a lower number of CFD simulations, compared to the use of default hyperparameters. The proposed framework offers the advantage of being a more hands-off approach that can be readily utilized by researchers and engineers in industry who do not have extensive machine learning expertise.

Owoyele, Opeoluwa↗

Custom ORIGEN Libraries for Tritium Production in Discrete Burnable Absorbers

The ORIGEN module in SCALE is a common method of performing quick depletion and irradiation calculations of various materials in light-water reactors. However, these analyses depend on the neutron spectra in the ARP libraries being accurate for the situation presented. When using insertable burnable absorbers in a LWR with Li-6 in order to produce tritium, the neutron spectrum is highly different than those in the default libraries in ORIGEN, which leads to significant mispredictions in tritium production. Therefore, custom libraries are required, and when comparing to lattice physics codes (CASMO5 and WIMS10) with ORIGEN, using custom libraries is much more accurate than using the default libraries.

Ivanusa, Pavlo↗

GridPIQ Reference Data

GridPIQ uses dozens of publicly available datasets to provide context for a user's grid project, as well as defaults for users to choose from. Users can choose to import their own data to better customize their analysis or use GridPIQ-supplied defaults. This allows users to get up and running with an analysis very quickly without having to spend significant time pulling together input data. To run an electric vehicle (EV) smart charging project, a user will need to provide or select from prepopulated values for the regional load profile shape and peak load, region of interest and closest weather station, EV charging profile, number of EVs to add for the analysis, maximum EV charging power, location of chargers relative to grid infrastructure, and allowable charging times (for coordinated charging mode). The outputs of the analysis are changes in air quality, EV energy consumption, EV peak demand, and EV hourly consumption profile—before and after project implementation." For a detailed description of the tool methodology, including all the publicly available datasets used by the tool, see the [GridPIQ documentation](https://gridpiq.pnnl.gov/v2-beta/doc/).

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗

Integrating Characteristic Arctic Vegetation in a Land Surface Model Improves Representation of Carbon Dynamics Across a Tundra Landscape: Modeling Archive

This modeling archive is in support of the Next-Generation Ecosystem Experiments in the Arctic (NGEE Arctic) publication "Integrating Characteristic Arctic Vegetation in a Land Surface Model Improves Representation of Carbon Dynamics Across a Tundra Landscape", by Murphy et al. (2025). This archive contains model input files and outputs from landscape-scale simulations conducted using ELM, the land model component of the Department of Energy’s Energy Exascale Earth System Model (E3SM), at the Council NGEE Arctic field site (Council Road mile marker 71) on Alaska’s Seward Peninsula. Input data and model output from two sets of ELM simulations are provided. The first set of simulations were conducted with the two default ELM Arctic plant functional types (PFTs; broadleaf deciduous boreal shrub and a C3 grass) and the second set of simulations were conducted with a set of nine Arctic-specific PFTs including nonvascular mosses and lichens, graminoids, forbs, evergreen dwarf shrubs, three height classes of deciduous shrubs (dwarf, low, and low to tall), and deciduous alder shrubs (Sulman et al., 2021). Parameter names and major parameter changes in the Arctic-specific PFT configuration are described in Sulman et al. (2021) and archived in the Sulman et al. (2021) dataset (see below). Simulations were spatially explicit, covering an approximately 6.4X3.3 km domain at the Council site with a spatial resolution of 100 m for a total of 2,112 simulated grid cells under each ELM PFT configuration. The modeling archive contains meteorological forcing (seven *.nc files and one *.txt file), a domain definition file (one *.nc files), land surface configuration files (two *.nc files), parameter files (two *.nc files), annual ELM output files spanning 1980-2014 (68 *.nc files), and a User’s Guide (*pdf file). Additional information on the provided files is in the “Modeling Archive Contents” section of the User’s Guide. Model outputs are aggregated to the column scale (i.e. PFT-specific outputs are not provided here).

Murphy, Bailey [ORNL] (ORCID:0000000203995221)↗

IDAES-PSE 2.6.0 Release

The Institute for the Design of Advanced Energy Systems (IDAES) Integrated Platform is a versatile computational environment offering extensive process systems engineering (PSE) capabilities for optimizing the design and operation of complex, interacting technologies and systems. IDAES enables users to efficiently search vast, complex design spaces to discover the lowest cost solutions while supporting the full process modeling lifecycle, from conceptual design to dynamic optimization and control. The extensible, open platform empowers users to create models of novel processes and rapidly develop custom analyses, workflows, and end-user applications. IDAES-PSE 2.6.0 Release Highlights Upcoming Changes IDAES will be switching to the new Pyomo solver interface in the next release. Whilst this will hopefully be a smooth transition for most users, there are a few important changes to be aware of. The new solver interface uses a different version of the IPOPT writer (“ipopt_v2”) and thus any custom configuration options you might have set for IPOPT will not carry over and will need to be reset. By default, the new Pyomo linear presolver will be activated with ipopt_v2. Whilst are working to identify any bugs in the presolver, it is possible that some edge cases will remain. IDAES will begin deploying a new set of scaling tools and APIs over the next few releases that make use of the new solver writers. The old scaling tools and APIs will remain for backward compatibility but will begin to be deprecated. New Models, Tools and Features New Intersphinx extension automatically linking Jupyter notebook examples to project documentation New end-to-end diagnostics example demonstrated on a real problem New complementarity formulation for VLE with cubic equations of state, backward compatibility for old formulation New solver interface with presolve (ipopt_v2) in support of upcoming changes to the initialization and APIs methods, with default set to ipopt to maintain backwards compatibility; this will deprecate once all examples have been updated New forecaster and parameterized bidder methods within grid integration library Updated surrogates API and examples to support Keras 3, with backwards compatibility for older formats such as TensorFlow SavedModel (TFSM) Updated costing base dictionary to include the 2023 cost year index value Updated ProcessBlock to include information on the constructing block class Updated Flowsheet Visualizer to allow visualize() method to return value and functions Bug Fixes Fixed bug in the Modular Property Framework that would cause errors when trying to use phase-based material balances with phase equilibria. Fixed bug in Modular Properties Framework that caused errors when initializing models with non-vapor-liquid phase equilibria. Fixed typos flagged by June update to crate-ci/typos and removed DMF-related exceptions Minor corrections of units of measurement handling in power plant waste/transport costing expressions, control volume material holdup expressions, and BTX property package parameters Fixed throwing >7500 numpy deprecation warnings by replacing scalar value assignment with element extraction and item iteration calls Testing and Robustness Migrated slow tests (>10s) to integration, impacting test coverage but also yielding a nearly 30% decrease in local test runtime Pinned pint to avoid issues with older supported Python versions Pinned codecov versions to avoid tokenless upload behavior with latest version Bumped extensions to version 3.4.2 to allow pointing to non-standard install location Deprecations and Removals Python 3.8 is no longer supported. The supported Python versions are 3.9 through 3.12 The Data Management Framework (DMF) is no longer supported. Importing idaes.core.dmf will cause a deprecation warning to be displayed until the next release The SOFC Keras surrogates have been removed. The current version of the SOFC surrogate model in the examples repository is a PySMO Kriging model.

AS↗

Data-Driven Understanding of Low-to-Moderate Income Customers’ Adoption and Financial Qualification in Community Solar

Through this project, we sought to gather a body of customer data that either proved or disproved our assumption that metrics other than FICO can and should be used to qualify customers for community solar. Using customer data on income, FICO scores, and utility/rent/cell phone repayment history, we developed an alternative metric in order to test in the market at a small scale whether new qualifying metrics could open the shared solar market up to millions of additional households. We demonstrate that the EnergyScore is both more accurate in qualifying customers that will not default, and more inclusive in qualifying low to moderate income households. We are now in the process of utilizing the EnergyScore in a number of pilot projects, building a robust dataset of customer churn and default, and subsequently disseminating this data to more traditional and larger scale financiers and solar developer partners to change the way potential customers are qualified.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗

Parameter Sensitivity Analysis of the SparTen High Performance Sparse Tensor Decomposition Software (Extended Analysis)

Tensor decomposition models play an increasingly important role in modern data science applications. One problem of particular interest is fitting a low-rank Canonical Polyadic (CP) tensor decomposition model when the tensor has sparse structure and the tensor elements are nonnegative count data. SparTen is a high-performance C++ library which computes a low-rank decomposition using different solvers: a first-order quasi-Newton or a second-order damped Newton method, along with the appropriate choice of runtime parameters. Since default parameters in SparTen are tuned to experimental results in prior published work on a single real-world dataset conducted using MATLAB implementations of these methods, it remains unclear if the parameter defaults in SparTen are appropriate for general tensor data. Furthermore, it is unknown how sensitive algorithm convergence is to changes in the input parameter values. This report addresses these unresolved issues with large-scale experimentation on three benchmark tensor data sets. Experiments were conducted on several different CPU architectures and replicated with many initial states to establish generalized profiles of algorithm convergence behavior.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗

Cost Impacts of Risk-Based Methods for Defining AoR and PISC Duration of a CO 2 Storage Project Using NRAP Tools and FE/NETL CO 2 Saline Storage Cost Model

The purpose of this analysis is to assess the fiscal impact of using risk-based methods to define the area of review (AoR) and post-injection site care (PISC) duration for a geologic carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) storage project. The Office of Fossil Energy (FE)/National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) CO 2 Saline Storage Cost Model (“cost model”) was utilized to evaluate CO 2 storage economics in this study. The cost model is a widely used tool for evaluating CO 2 storage costs in geologic settings. It estimates costs for storage operations conducted under compliance to the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Underground Injection Control (UIC) Class VI regulations. This analysis evaluates and compares the costs of storage (on a first-year break-even dollar per tonne [2018$] basis) at the proposed FutureGen 2.0 site as a case study storage location by implementing different approaches to determine AoR and PISC given the prevailing geologic conditions and injection volume and duration considerations. The approaches include the use of 1) risk-based methods to define AoR and PISC duration, 2) an EPA-approved AoR and PISC documented in the FutureGen 2.0 UIC Class VI permit applications, and 3) cost model default settings that utilize uncertainty multipliers to estimate CO 2 plume and pressure front extent as part of AoR determination, as well as a 50-year PISC default. From all three sources, the AoR and PISC specified in the Class VI permit applications for FutureGen 2.0 were the largest and longest relative to the other two sources.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

Building Model Calibration: Validation of GridLAB-D Thermal Dynamics Modeling

This report investigates how well GridLAB-D’s house model characterizes the thermal dynamics of buildings given the overpredicted diurnal electric load swing observed in the Distribution System Operation with Transactive (DSO+T) study. This study seeks to validate GridLAB-D’s house model by calibrating it to data from the well-instrumented Pacific Northwest National Laboratory Lab Homes in Richland, WA. The datasets chosen included multiple pre-cooling and pre-heating testing periods where the indoor air temperature was allowed to float over a multi-hour length of time to mimic diurnal behavior. The multi-season calibrations were evaluated by comparing the heating/cooling electric power, indoor air temperature, and the rise/decay time during temperature float periods with Lab Homes data. The default GridLAB-D assumptions for latent load fraction, air heat capacity, mass heat capacity, window-to-wall-ratio, overall envelope conductance (assumed as NORMAL thermal integrity level), and solar heat gain coefficient were compared with the calibrated model to confirm when the default assumptions were adequate and the impact of calibration on the accuracy of modeling the thermal dynamics of homes.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗

Validation of New MCNP6.3 Features for Critical and Subcritical Benchmark Simulations [Slides]

A separate MCNP6.3 V&V document reports on all the default calculations for all test suites was introduced. Here, we look at new optional features of the MCNP6.3 code. Then, Fission-matrix-based options with Convergence and population testing and Automated acceleration of the fission source and Doppler Broadening Resonance Correction and HDF5 Particle Track Output (PTRAC) and Validation benchmarks: criticality, Rossi-α, and subcritical multiplication. All the new MCNP6.3 options give statistically equivalent results and should be considered for default usage in criticality and subcritical multiplication calculation work. Discussed are two separate papers at the upcoming 2023 International Conference on Nuclear Criticality Safety (ICNC 2023) that give more details on the results presented here.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗

MultiPEM Toolbox: User Manual [Rev. 2]

This document explains use of the Multi-Phenomenology Explosion Monitoring (Multi PEM) Toolbox, a collection of R scripts for estimating the unknown device parameters of a new event with uncertainty quantification. The methodology and application used for illustration in this user manual are fully documented in a Los Alamos National Laboratory technical report hereafter designated “WPA” for reference. Additional details on the application are found in a recent journal article. Two assessment types are available: rapid and complete. Rapid assessments are conducted in two stages, as described in Section 2. In the first stage, calibration data are used to estimate forward and error model parameters (WPA, §5.1) and (if relevant) errors-in-variables yield values for calibration sources (WPA, §3, Equation (3)). In the second stage, new event data are used to estimate the unknown new event device parameters (WPA, §5.2) with uncertainty quantification. Two options for treating the inferred first stage parameters in second stage Bayesian analysis are available: fixing them at their maximum likelihood estimate (default), or multiple imputation. Multiple imputation involves utilizing several posterior samples (imputations) of the first stage parameters as fixed values in the second stage posterior sampling of the new event device parameters. Second stage sampling is conducted across imputations in parallel to improve computational efficiency. This method produces improved uncertainty quantification of the new event device parameters compared with the default treatment of the first stage parameters, at the expense of additional computation. Complete assessments are conducted in a single stage, as described in Section 3. Calibration and (if relevant) new event data are used simultaneously to estimate all forward model, error model, and (if relevant) new event device parameters with uncertainty quantification on the latter. As the name suggests, rapid assessments generally run substantially faster than complete assessments (even with multiple imputation), because the results of first stage analysis can be stored and incorporated into estimating a relatively low-dimensional space of new event device parameters whenever relevant new event data becomes available. On the other hand, complete assessments must be run on the full set of model and device parameters with calibration and new event data every time the latter becomes available.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗

End-Use Savings Shapes Measure Documentation: Thermostat Control for Load Shifting in Large Offices

This documentation focuses on a single end-use savings shape measure - thermostat control for load shifting. The thermostat control for load shifting measure applies heating and cooling temperature setpoint adjustment for pre-conditioning before the peak window. The measure takes daily peak load schedule inputs generated by the method "Dispatch Schedule Generation" described in the "Supplemental Documentation: Dispatch Schedule Generation for Demand Flexibility Measures" to determine the start time of the peak window, and then adjusts the thermostat cooling or heating setpoints by a specified offset value from original schedules to precool or preheat the space , for a specified length of time before the start of peak window, and thus shifts load in the peak window to the pre-conditioning period. The measure is flexible and allows users to adjust the heating and cooling offset values and length of pre-conditioning period, but for this study, the load shifting strategy is applied as pre-cooling only (adjusting only cooling setpoints). The default adjustment for cooling setpoints is set to -1 degrees Celsius , and the default duration of pre-cooling is 1 hour. This measure is applicable to large offices equipped with electric HVAC system, which account for approximately 8.72% of the ComStock floor area. The thermostat control for load shifting measure demonstrates -1% daily peak demand reduction and 0% total site energy savings (0 trillion British thermal units [TBtu]) for the U.S. commercial building stock modeled in ComStock.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗

Hydrogen Plus Other Alternative Fuels Risk Assessment Models (HyRAM+) Version 5.1 Technical Reference Manual

The HyRAM+ software toolkit provides a basis for conducting quantitative risk assessment and consequence modeling for hydrogen, natural gas, and autogas systems. HyRAM+ is designed to facilitate the use of state-of-the-art models to conduct robust, repeatable assessments of safety, hazards, and risk. HyRAM+ integrates deterministic and probabilistic models for quantifying leak sizes and rates, predicting physical effects, characterizing hazards (thermal effects from jet fires, overpressure effects from delayed ignition), and assessing impacts on people. HyRAM+ is developed at Sandia National Laboratories to support the development and revision of national and international codes and standards, and to provide developed models in a publicly-accessible toolkit usable by all stakeholders. This document provides a description of the methodology and models contained in HyRAM+ version 5.1. The most significant changes for HyRAM+ version 5.1 from HyRAM+ version 5.0 are updated default leak frequency values for propane, new default component counts for different fuel types, and an improved fuel specification view in the graphical user interface.

02 PETROLEUM↗

The Design and Evaluation of Zero Trust Architecture for Electric Vehicle Charging Infrastructure: EVs @ Scale Series on EV Charging Station Cybersecurity

Implementing a zero trust architecture can significantly bolster the security of electric vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure. EV charging infrastructure includes numerous networked interfaces, each of which can present potential vulnerabilities. When these vulnerabilities are exploited, they can compromise the entire system, leading to severe operational and security risks. Zero trust is a security model that operates on the principle of "never trust, always verify," which helps manage the attack surface and limit the scope of any potential compromises. Fundamentally, this model ensures that no entity, whether inside or outside the network, is trusted by default. The design principles of zero trust include continuous verification, strict deny-by-default access controls, and micro-segmentation. Continuous verification ensures that every request is thoroughly checked, regardless of its origin. Strict access controls enforce the principle of least privilege, allowing users and devices only the minimum necessary access to perform their functions. Micro-segmentation involves dividing the network into smaller, isolated segments to prevent lateral movement in case of a breach. In the context of EV charging infrastructure, zero trust can be implemented through various strategies. For example, multi-factor authentication (MFA) can be required for engineers to access the management interfaces and control systems of charging stations. Real-time monitoring and analysis of network traffic can help detect and respond to anomalies. Systems that do not need to communicate with each other can be micro-segmented to enhance security. All communications should adhere to predefined policies to be permitted. Additionally, encrypting communications can protect sensitive information exchanged between chargers and management systems. This paper presents a zero trust architecture specifically designed for EV charging infrastructure. Implementing zero trust not only mitigates risks but also builds a resilient infrastructure capable of withstanding and quickly recovering from cyber threats. The architecture addresses six defined security objectives. A comprehensive test plan is developed to assess the architecture against these objectives, and the results of the evaluation are reported. This approach is essential for maintaining the reliability and integrity of EV charging services in an increasingly interconnected and vulnerable digital landscape. This is the first in a planned series of papers exploring the implementation of zero trust in EV charging infrastructure. Each paper will delve into different aspects and applications of zero trust, highlighting how various work processes and requirements can lead to distinct architectural designs. These architectures will be tailored to address specific security challenges and operational needs within the EV charging ecosystem, ensuring a robust and adaptable security framework.

33 ADVANCED PROPULSION SYSTEMS↗

TeMPI Shim

This is the manual for the TeMPI Shim library, whose goal is to facilitate scientific apps being loosely coupled through MPI. TeMPI Shim can be used to create and manage Message Passing Interface (MPI, see [MPI]) Communicators for Single Program, Multiple Data (SPMD, see [SPMD]) and Multiple Programs, Multiple Data (MPMD, see [MPMD]) workflows. MPI provides the MPI_APPNUM command number to each of the processes within its context. This number, starting at 0, is the application number being executed. In a case where 3 applications are being run in MPMD mode, there would be MPI_APPNUM values of 0, 1, and 2. TeMPI Shim creates intra- and inter-communicators between each pair of MPI_APPNUM values. In the aforementioned case, application 0 would have intra- and inter-communicators to speak to itself, application 1, and application 2. This is replicated for each of the applications. Additionally, TeMPI Shim creates intra- and inter-communicators for the first MPI rank of each application to directly communicate only with each other. Finally, TeMPI Shim creates its own copy of the default world communicator, i.e., MPI_COMM_WORLD. In the case where there is only a single application, it will have the communicators to only speak with itself. TeMPI Shim is useful in this case since it is considered good practice for MPI applications to copy the default world communicator and reference this copy (see [Duplicate World]_) anyways. Ultimately, it provides value independent of the number of applications present.

96 KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT AND PRESERVATION↗

Summary of Expansions and Updates in R&D GREET® 2025

The research and development (R&D) version of Greenhouse gases, Regulated Emissions, and Energy use in Technologies (GREET®) model, or R&D GREET, is developed by Argonne National Laboratory (Argonne) with the support of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and other federal agencies. R&D GREET is a life cycle analysis (LCA) model, structured to systematically examine the energy and environmental effects of a wide variety of transportation fuels and vehicle technologies in all transportation sub-sectors (i.e., road, air, marine, and rail) and other end-use sectors, and energy technology systems. Argonne has expanded and updated the model in many areas in R&D GREET 2025. This report provides a summary of the expansions and updates. R&D GREET is designed as an attributional LCA model, but specific consequential effects for certain pathways are included by default when they are scientifically important and/or highly policy relevant. For example, two major consequential elements – induced land use change (ILUC) for biofuels and avoided emissions for certain RNG-based pathways – are implemented by default in R&D GREET because they are highly relevant to our user base and crucial for a comprehensive evaluation of the environmental effects of these technologies. In a future version of R&D GREET, these consequential elements for biofuels and RNG could be more clearly distinguished from core attributional results. We will consider adding a highly visible toggle that would allow users to turn off or adjust these consequential impacts.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗

Second ARM Aerosol Chemical Speciation Monitor Users’ Meeting Report

The aerosol chemical speciation monitor (ACSM) was developed to adapt the technology of the aerosol mass spectrometer (AMS) to routine, long-term, standalone monitoring. The calculation of particulate mass concentration from ACSM data requires the measurement of the response of the instrument to aerosol of specific size and composition as well as assumptions about the instrument response based on laboratory measurements and field experience acquired over more than two decades of operation of AMS and a decade of operation of the ACSM. Three parameters in the concentration calculations that are particularly important are the NO3 response factor (RFNO3), relative ionization efficiency (RIE), and the collection efficiency (CE). The values of RFNO3 and RIEs are determined from calibration, however the jump calibration method previously used in calibration can result in errors in the RIE for sulfate. This has been corrected by implementing a continuous calibration method. The default collection efficiency is 0.5. This has been shown to result in mass loadings that do not agree with mass determinations from other instruments because of effects of composition on the vaporization of the particles. The previous work of investigators addressing this issue is discussed. After preliminary work on ACSM and scanning mobility particle sizer (SMPS) data from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) user facility Southern Great Plains (SGP) observatory collected in late 2016 and 2017 produced a parameterization of composition dependent collection efficiency very different from the results of previous studies, SMPS data were examined and we determined that there was significant mass that the instrument did not capture because the particles with diameters larger than 465 nm are not counted by this instrument. Data for the ultra-high-sensitivity aerosol spectrometer (UHSAS), SMPS, and ACSM are available for nearly all of 2019. The data from UHSAS and SMPS collected in 2019 were compared. We found that the UHSAS data has particle counts and total volumes significantly less than measured by the condensation particle counter (CPC) and SMPS. The SMPS data were extended by fitting the average volume distribution with a log normal curve and using this relationship to estimate a mass value for the SMPS over extended diameter range. The extended SMPS mass values result in a CDCE parameterization that is in better agreement with the results of other investigators, but is still different from other formulations. The working group recommends that the ACSM data be processed with a collective efficiency (CE)=1, that this be documented clearly in the metadata, and the use of the default CE of 0.5 or a formulation of composition-dependent collection efficiencies (CDCE) chosen by the user should be implemented based on the ammonium nitrate mass fraction. This is clearly necessary for the wintertime SGP ACSM data because of the high nitrate concentrations.

47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION↗