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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 973 records · Page 54
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2023

Estimation of Arrivals on Green at Signalized Intersections Using Stop-Bar Video Detection

Across the world, traffic congestion is increasing with alarming rapidity. Traffic signal control effectiveness, in coordinated networks, is often investigated in relation to the type of vehicle arrivals at the signalized intersections. Recently, several transportation agencies have switched from traditional loop detectors to video detection. When video cameras are accompanied by computer vision, one can extract more information about traffic “dynamics” than by using traditional inductive loop detectors. Collecting arrival times of multiple vehicles after the first arrival at the stop-bar detector might be challenging when using inductive loop detectors (since after the first arrival, detector status is always occupied). However, emerging video detection systems allow tracking of each vehicle’s entrance time in the detection zone, departure time from the detection zone, and the type of vehicle. This information can be used to estimate vehicular arrival and departure times, which then can be fed into machine learning algorithms to estimate arrivals on green (AOG). However, such research ideas have not been documented so far. Thus, this paper presents an estimation model for AOG, which was developed using multigene genetic programming. A robust experimental dataset was collected from a highly calibrated and validated microsimulation model of an 11-intersection corridor in Chattanooga, TN. The results of the model’s performance analysis showed the high accuracy of the training-, testing-, and validation datasets. The practical benefit of this model is that it can be applied to estimate arrival types at intersections where only stop-bar video detection exists.

Engineering↗
DOE OSTI2018

Sierra Structural Dynamics Code Verification Plan

Verification and validation (V&V) of scientific computing programs are important at San- dia National Laboratories (SNL) due to the expanding role of computational simulation in managing the United States nuclear stockpile. This document presents the verification plan for the Sierra Structural Dynamics application. This verification plan includes code devel- opment practices, structure of test suites, and additional quality assurance practices used by the Sierra/SD team.

42 ENGINEERING↗
DOE OSTI2022

Programming approaches for scalability, performance, and portability of combustion physics codes

Here, this paper presents the process, strategy, and results associated with porting a typical combustion physics flow solver to current state-of-the-art and future massively-parallel computer architectures. Major focus is placed on the distinct algorithmic structure of these types of codes and how it can be integrated with modern programming paradigms for heterogeneous platforms (i.e., distributed many-core systems with accelerators). An end-to-end case study is presented that exemplifies the process in a generic manner, which then serves as a clear guide with respect to the strategy and best practices leading to a robust and adaptable framework that performs well, is durable over time, is portable, and requires minimal human-effort. This end is accomplished beginning with the use of a mature, validated, structured, multiblock code framework optimized for application of both Large Eddy Simulation (LES) and Direct Numerical Simulation (DNS). This code has been ported to a variety of platforms over the past decade, including most recently the Oak Ridge Leadership Computing Facility’s “Summit” Platform. The experience gained on these multiple platforms provides general insights and thus the results presented are not specific to any one code or platform other than the overarching trend toward distributed many-core systems with accelerators in order to move toward exascale performance. The resultant performance and scalability of the ported code is demonstrated on a real-world application; a state-of-the-art rotating detonation rocket engine simulation that matches the complex geometry and boundary conditions imposed as part of a companion experimental campaign.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗
DOE OSTI2014

Understanding the many-body expansion for large systems. I. Precision considerations

Electronic structure methods based on low-order “n-body” expansions are an increasingly popular means to defeat the highly nonlinear scaling of ab initio quantum chemistry calculations, taking advantage of the inherently distributable nature of the numerous subsystem calculations. Here, we examine how the finite precision of these subsystem calculations manifests in applications to large systems, in this case, a sequence of water clusters ranging in size up to (H{sub 2}O){sub 47}. Using two different computer implementations of the n-body expansion, one fully integrated into a quantum chemistry program and the other written as a separate driver routine for the same program, we examine the reproducibility of total binding energies as a function of cluster size. The combinatorial nature of the n-body expansion amplifies subtle differences between the two implementations, especially for n ⩾ 4, leading to total energies that differ by as much as several kcal/mol between two implementations of what is ostensibly the same method. This behavior can be understood based on a propagation-of-errors analysis applied to a closed-form expression for the n-body expansion, which is derived here for the first time. Discrepancies between the two implementations arise primarily from the Coulomb self-energy correction that is required when electrostatic embedding charges are implemented by means of an external driver program. For reliable results in large systems, our analysis suggests that script- or driver-based implementations should read binary output files from an electronic structure program, in full double precision, or better yet be fully integrated in a way that avoids the need to compute the aforementioned self-energy. Moreover, four-body and higher-order expansions may be too sensitive to numerical thresholds to be of practical use in large systems.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2017

A Unit Testing Framework for Scientific Legacy Code

Large-scale scientific applications play important roles in supporting research. However, it is often very expensive and time-consuming to make changes to, maintain and evolve the scientific code due to its complexity and poor programming skills of researchers. Therefore, in order to visualize scientific code architecture to optimize software design, understand undocumented source code, and analyze software flow and functionality, we first introduce a unit testing framework (UTF). Then, because such infrastructure's performance is very crucial in practical use since the scientific legacy applications simulate instances in a long period of time, we improve the UTF by applying Message Passing based Parallelization and parallel I/O operations. Furthermore, due to the scientific code has enormous state data and the I/O capacity on the server is limited, we apply in situ data analysis method to encounter fewer resource limitations, and adopt signal processing to greatly reduce data transfer. Last, we demonstrated the correctness and high-efficiency of our framework for legacy Earth model on Titan supercomputer.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗
DOE OSTI2015

Asymmetric Hybrid Nanoparticles

Hybrid Nanoparticles (AHNs) are rationally-designed multifunctional nanostructures and novel building blocks for the next generation of advanced materials and devices. Nanoscale materials attract considerable interest because of their unusual properties and potential for practical applications. Most of the activity in this field is focused on the synthesis of homogeneous nanoparticles from metals, metal oxides, semiconductors, and polymers. It is well recognized that properties of nanoparticles can be further enhanced if they are made as hybrid structures. This program is concerned with the synthesis, characterization, and application of such hybrid structures termed AHNs. AHNs are composed of a homogeneous core and several caps of different materials deposited on its surface (Fig. 1). Combined properties of the core and the caps as well as new properties that arise from core-cap and cap-cap interactions render AHNs multifunctional. In addition, specific chemical reactivity of the caps enables directional self-assembly of AHNs into complex architectures that are not possible with only spherical nanoparticles.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2016

Residential Central Air Conditioning and Heat Pump Installation – Workshop Outcomes

DOE's Building Technologies Office works with researchers and industry partners to develop and deploy technologies that can substantially reduce energy consumption in residential and commercial buildings. This report aims to advance BTO’s energy savings, emissions reduction, and other program goals by identifying research and development (R&D), demonstration and deployment, and other non-regulatory initiatives for improving the design and installation of residential central air conditioners (CAC) and central heat pumps (CHP). Improving the adoption of CAC/CHP design and installation best practices has significant potential to reduce equipment costs, improve indoor air quality and comfort, improve system performance, and most importantly, reduce household energy consumption and costs for heating and cooling by addressing a variety of common installation issues.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗
DOE OSTI2015

Optimizing Geothermal Drilling: Oil and Gas Technology Transfer

There is a significant amount of financial risk associated with geothermal drilling. This study of drilling operations seeks opportunities to improve upon current practices and technologies. The scope of this study included analyzing 21 geothermal wells and 21 oil and gas wells. The goal was to determine a 'Perfect Well' using historical data to compare the best oil and gas well to the best geothermal well. Unfortunately, limitations encountered in the study included missing data (bit records, mud information, etc.) and poor data collection practices An online software database was used to format drilling data to IADC coded daily drilling reports and generate figures for analysis. Six major issues have been found in geothermal drilling operations. These problems include lost circulation, rig/ equipment selection, cementing, penetration rate, drilling program, and time management. As a result of these issues, geothermal drilling averaged 56.4 days longer than drilling comparable oil and gas wells in the wells in this study. Roughly $13.9 million was spent on non-productive time in the 21 geothermal wells, compared with only $1.3 million in the oil and gas wells, assuming a cost of $50,000 per day. Comparable events such as drilling the same sized hole, tripping in/out, cementing, and running the same size casing took substantially less time in the oil and gas wells. Geothermal wells were drilled using older and/or less advanced technology to depths less than 10,000 feet, while oil and gas wells reached 12,500 feet faster with purpose built rigs. A new approach is now underway that will optimize drilling programs throughout the drilling industry using Mechanical Specific Energy (MSE) as a tool to realize efficient drilling processes. Potential improvements for current geothermal operations are: the use of electronic records, real time services, and official glossary terms to describe rig operations, and advanced drilling rigs/technology.

15 GEOTHERMAL ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2015

The Acoustic Emission signal acquired by the microphones placed in the CABRI test device along the fourteen last R.I.A. experiments: an example of reproducible research in nuclear science

The CABRI facility is an experimental nuclear reactor of the French Atomic Energy Commission. It is located at the Cadarache Research Centre in southern France and it is designed to act as a support to the French nuclear infrastructure. The purpose of the new testing programme termed, 'CABRI International Programme' (CIP) is to study the behaviour of PWR-type fuel rods at high burnup, equipped with an 'advanced' cladding, under Reactivity Initiated Accident (RIA) conditions (such as the scenario of a control rod ejection). Within the framework of this programme, piloted and funded by the French Institute of Nuclear Radioprotection and Safety (IRSN), ten tests are to be conducted with a frequency of two tests per year. The LPRE laboratory of the CEA which is in charge of the Preparation, realisation and breakdown of the test results studies the possibility to set up a new test analysis based on the processing of signals coming from sensors placed within the test equipment. During the experimental phase, the behaviour of the fuel element generates acoustic waves which can be detected by two microphones placed upstream and downstream of the test device. Studies showed the interest to realize temporal and spectral analyses on these signals by showing the existence of signatures which can be correlated with physical phenomena as the rod failure or the test shutdown (i.e. scram). The work presented in this article results from the will to consolidate these studies. Since the main phenomenon to be tracked is the fuel rod failure, the aim would be to highlight specific events which would have been precursors of the rod failure in order to use in the future these signals for further interpretation. Such an antecedent works resumption leads to a better understanding of the experimental needs and constitutes a good initial state to prepare the new very fast digital data acquisition systems. Although all the raw data are accessible in the form of text files, analyses and graphics representations were not straightforward to reproduce from the ancient studies since that, on one hand, people who were in charge of the original work left the laboratory and on the other hand because it is not easy when the time passes, even with our own work, to be able to remember the steps of data manipulations and the exact setup: - During the ancient experiments the use of analog data acquisition systems required to digitize tapes to be able to realize computer treatments. That had had for consequence to lose the initial dating. This one must be correctly edited to do temporal comparisons. - Analyses require functions for calculations whose parameters has to be well-known to reach the same results. We thus wished to manage our workflow in the idea that it can be easily reproducible on all the experiments. The object of the work presented in this article was to put in practice this strong bind between the data, treatments and generation of the document in order not to hesitate to do the iteration principle in action. We do not have to be afraid by the data driven analyses. According to the philosophy of the literate programming, the text of the technical document is woven with the computer code that produces all the printed output as tables, graphs for the study eliminating hence the unrealistic cut and paste. This difficulty is not specific to the nuclear domain. For many years, researchers have been worked out solutions to this mundane issue. And, presently, new technologies and high-level programming languages offer us actual answers. We will firstly present the tools applied in our laboratory to implement this workflow, then we will describe the global perception carried out to continue the study of the Acoustic Emission signals recorded by the two microphones during the fourteen last CABRI R.I.A. test.

21 SPECIFIC NUCLEAR REACTORS AND ASSOCIATED PLANTS↗
DOE OSTI2020

Panel Session 120: Roundtable: Waste Management - Energy Facilities Contractor Operating Group (EFCOG WM)

This Roundtable focused on the WM EFCOG working group as they met to discuss a variety of issues of importance to US DOE waste management operations. The purpose of the WM EFCOG is to seek out and promote the best management and operating practices, cost effective technologies and disposal options for all waste streams generated at US DOE facilities whether destined for US DOE or commercial facilities. Each site representative provided a radioactive waste management lessons learned briefing. Panelists with presentations: Savannah River Site (SRS) Solid Waste Program Update (Kerri Crawford); Idaho Clean-up Project Status (Frederick Hughes); West Valley Demonstration Project Update - EFCOG Waste Management Working Group (John Rendall); Key Project Challenges and Successes (Kalli Shupe); EFCOG WMWG Challenging Waste Subgroup Update (Tammy Monday); CH TRU Difficult Waste Stream Processing Challenges (Daniel Pancake); Argonne Building 350 Clean-up Success Using Effective Work Control (Daniel Dilday); Problematic Waste Streams on the Oak Ridge Reservation (John Wrapp)

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗
DOE OSTI2025

ACCELERATED DEPLOYMENT OF NOVEL MATERIALS BASED ON RELIABILITY INTEGRITY MANAGEMENT USING CUMULATIVE DAMAGE MODELING

There is currently no widely agreed, detailed general method for licensing a novel plant incorporating novel materials (or materials being deployed in novel environments); in many such situations, there are no directly applicable engineering code cases for decision-makers (including regulators) to rely on. This paper discusses a framework for solving this problem that is based on the Reliability and Integrity Management (RIM) approach delineated in ASME BPVC Section XI Division 2. NRC Regulatory Guide 1.246, Rev. 0, endorses, with conditions, the subject portion of the 2019 ASME Code. The proposed framework is meant to support development of a licensing case by addressing certain remaining technical challenges. The framework discussed here is compatible with the Licensing Modernization Project, but applying it in a specific case will call for advances in the state of practice, if not the state of the art. The RIM approach calls for applicants to (a) allocate reliability targets to plant structures, systems, and components (SSCs), (b) show that they are able to relate the currently observed physical condition of each SSC in the program to its failure probability well enough to determine whether the target reliability allocations are being satisfied, allowing for uncertainty related to the novelty of the materials/designs/operating environments, and (c) be able to demonstrate that the proposed program of surveillances will reliably detect unacceptable degradation of an SSC before SSC failure occurs. A modeling approach potentially applicable to item (b), based on cumulative damage modeling rather than failure rates, is briefly illustrated.

22 - GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS↗
DOE OSTI2019

LLNL SFA OBER–SBR FY19 Program Management and Performance Report: Biogeochemistry of Actinides

Over 2,600 metric tons of plutonium (Pu) are estimated to have been produced worldwide, with approximately 70-90 metric tons added to this inventory each year from spent nuclear fuel. A subset of this Pu inventory has been released into the environment as a result of nuclear weapons production, weapons testing, poor waste management practices, and nuclear accidents. The migration of low levels of Pu released in the environment has been documented on the scale of kilometers. Due to its long half-life, toxicity, and its ability to migrate, Pu represents a potentially significant risk to humankind and the environment. Their fate depends on the nature of the release, the biogeochemical processes controlling mobilization, and the eventual exposure pathways. Understanding their behavior in the environment is critical for managing environmental contamination and planning for the safe, long-term isolation of nuclear waste from the biosphere.

11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS↗
DOE OSTI2021

An empirical investigation of organic software product lines

Abstract Software product line engineering is a best practice for managing reuse in families of software systems that is increasingly being applied to novel and emerging domains. In this work we investigate the use of software product line engineering in one of these new domains, synthetic biology. In synthetic biology living organisms are programmed to perform new functions or improve existing functions. These programs are designed and constructed using small building blocks made out of DNA. We conjecture that there are families of products that consist of common and variable DNA parts, and we can leverage product line engineering to help synthetic biologists build, evolve, and reuse DNA parts. In this paper we perform an investigation of domain engineering that leverages an open-source repository of more than 45,000 reusable DNA parts. We show the feasibility of these new types of product line models by identifying features and related artifacts in up to 93.5% of products, and that there is indeed both commonality and variability. We then construct feature models for four commonly engineered functions leading to product lines ranging from 10 to 7.5 × 10 20 products. In a case study we demonstrate how we can use the feature models to help guide new experimentation in aspects of application engineering. Finally, in an empirical study we demonstrate the effectiveness and efficiency of automated reverse engineering on both complete and incomplete sets of products. In the process of these studies, we highlight key challenges and uncovered limitations of existing SPL techniques and tools which provide a roadmap for making SPL engineering applicable to new and emerging domains.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗
DOE OSTI2018

Kinetic energy classification and smoothing for compact B-spline basis sets in quantum Monte Carlo

Quantum Monte Carlo calculations of defect properties of transition metal oxides have become feasible in recent years due to increases in computing power. As the system size has grown, availability of on-node memory has become a limiting factor. Saving memory while minimizing computational cost is now a priority. The main growth in memory demand stems from the B-spline representation of the single particle orbitals, especially for heavier elements such as transition metals where semi-core states are present. Despite the associated memory costs, splines are computationally efficient. In this paper, we explore alternatives to reduce the memory usage of splined orbitals without significantly affecting numerical fidelity or computational efficiency. We make use of the kinetic energy operator to both classify and smooth the occupied set of orbitals prior to splining. By using a partitioning scheme based on the per-orbital kinetic energy distributions, we show that memory savings of about 50% is possible for select transition metal oxide systems. Finally, for production supercells of practical interest, our scheme incurs a performance penalty of less than 5%.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗
DOE OSTI2023

Online Model-Free Chance-Constrained Distribution System Voltage Control Using DERs

This paper proposes an online data-driven distributed energy resource management system (DERMS) optimization method using chance-constrained formulation to address distribution system voltage regulation. This is achieved via the local sensitivity factor (LSF)-enabled reformulation of the DER control into a linear programming (LP) problem, which is easy and computationally efficient to solve. The LSF is estimated using online measurements and does not need the assumption of node load information. The latter is usually required for existing optimization-based methods but is difficult to obtain in practice. To mitigate measurement uncertainties, a scenario-based chance-constrained formulation is constructed. Compared with other control methods, the results carried out in a realistic distribution system show that the proposed method can effectively eliminate voltage violation issues.

chance-constrained optimization↗
DOE OSTI2019

Optimal Operation of Grid-Tied Energy Storage Systems Considering Detailed Device-Level Battery Models

The current optimization-based algorithms to operate grid-tied battery energy storage systems (BESS) typically do not look much under the hood of the BESS, i.e., the device-level characteristics of the batteries. This is often due to modeling as well as optimization complexities. However, simplified models may significantly degrade the performance of BESS operation in practice. Therefore, in this article, we propose a new BESS scheduling optimization framework that accounts for features such as cell-to-cell variations in maximum capacity, charge level balance, and internal resistance. The proposed framework is in the form of tractable mixed integer linear programs. Our approach is to estimate and update the device-level battery model parameters continuously, without the need to interrupt BESS normal operation. We validate the performance compared to an offline approach, which is based on dedicated model testing and calibration. To assure accurate performance evaluation, this article also includes developing a power hardware-in-the-loop testbed that allows for flexible operation and detailed monitoring of BESS under different design scenarios.

25 ENERGY STORAGE↗
DOE OSTI2016

Minimizing treatment planning errors in proton therapy using failure mode and effects analysis

Purpose: Failure mode and effects analysis (FMEA) is a widely used tool to evaluate safety or reliability in conventional photon radiation therapy. However, reports about FMEA application in proton therapy are scarce. The purpose of this study is to apply FMEA in safety improvement of proton treatment planning at their center. Methods: The authors performed an FMEA analysis of their proton therapy treatment planning process using uniform scanning proton beams. The authors identified possible failure modes in various planning processes, including image fusion, contouring, beam arrangement, dose calculation, plan export, documents, billing, and so on. For each error, the authors estimated the frequency of occurrence, the likelihood of being undetected, and the severity of the error if it went undetected and calculated the risk priority number (RPN). The FMEA results were used to design their quality management program. In addition, the authors created a database to track the identified dosimetric errors. Periodically, the authors reevaluated the risk of errors by reviewing the internal error database and improved their quality assurance program as needed. Results: In total, the authors identified over 36 possible treatment planning related failure modes and estimated the associated occurrence, detectability, and severity to calculate the overall risk priority number. Based on the FMEA, the authors implemented various safety improvement procedures into their practice, such as education, peer review, and automatic check tools. The ongoing error tracking database provided realistic data on the frequency of occurrence with which to reevaluate the RPNs for various failure modes. Conclusions: The FMEA technique provides a systematic method for identifying and evaluating potential errors in proton treatment planning before they result in an error in patient dose delivery. The application of FMEA framework and the implementation of an ongoing error tracking system at their clinic have proven to be useful in error reduction in proton treatment planning, thus improving the effectiveness and safety of proton therapy.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2026

Q-IRIS: The Evolution of the IRIS Task-Based Runtime to Enable Classical-Quantum Workflows

Extreme heterogeneity in emerging HPC systems are starting to include quantum accelerators, motivating runtimes that can coordinate between classical and quantum workloads. We present a proof-of-concept hybrid execution framework integrating the IRIS asynchronous task-based runtime with the XACC quantum programming framework via the Quantum Intermediate Representation Execution Engine (QIR-EE). IRIS orchestrates multiple programs written in the quantum intermediate representation (QIR) across heterogeneous backends (including multiple quantum simulators), enabling concurrent execution of classical and quantum tasks. Although not a performance study, we report measurable outcomes through the successful asynchronous scheduling and execution of multiple quantum workloads. To illustrate practical runtime implications, we decompose a four-qubit circuit into smaller subcircuits through a process known as quantum circuit cutting, reducing per-task quantum simulation load and demonstrating how task granularity can improve simulator throughput and reduce queueing behavior -- effects directly relevant to early quantum hardware environments. We conclude by outlining key challenges for scaling hybrid runtimes, including coordinated scheduling, classical-quantum interaction management, and support for diverse backend resources in heterogeneous systems.

Miniskar, Narasinga Rao [ORNL] (ORCID:000000018259↗