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At least 1,009 records · Page 56

Bifurcation and Stability Analysis of the Equilibrium States in Thermodynamic Systems in a Small Vicinity of the Equilibrium Values of Parameters

The dynamic behavior of thermodynamic system, described by one order parameter and one control parameter, in a small neighborhood of ordinary and bifurcation equilibrium values of the system parameters is studied. Using the general methods of investigating the branching (bifurcations) of solutions for nonlinear equations, we performed an exhaustive analysis of the order parameter dependences on the control parameter in a small vicinity of the equilibrium values of parameters, including the stability analysis of the equilibrium states, and the asymptotic behavior of the order parameter dependences on the control parameter (bifurcation diagrams). The peculiarities of the transition to an unstable state of the system are discussed, and the estimates of the transition time to the unstable state in the neighborhood of ordinary and bifurcation equilibrium values of parameters are given. The influence of an external field on the dynamic behavior of thermodynamic system is analyzed, and the peculiarities of the system dynamic behavior are discussed near the ordinary and bifurcation equilibrium values of parameters in the presence of external field. The dynamic process of magnetization of a ferromagnet is discussed by using the general methods of bifurcation and stability analysis presented in the paper.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗

Beyond Limber: efficient computation of angular power spectra for galaxy clustering and weak lensing

Angular two-point statistics of large-scale structure observables are important cosmological probes. To reach the high accuracy required by the statistical precision of future surveys, some of these statistics may need to be computed without the commonly employed Limber approximation; the exact computation however requires integration over Bessel functions, and a brute-force evaluation is slow to converge. Here, we present a new method based on our generalized FFTLog algorithm for the efficient computation of angular power spectra beyond the Limber approximation. The new method significantly simplifies the calculation and improves the numerical speed and stability. It is easily extended to handle integrals involving derivatives of Bessel functions, making it equally applicable to numerically more challenging cases such as contributions from redshift-space distortions and Doppler effects. We implement our method for galaxy clustering and galaxy-galaxy lensing power spectra. We find that using the Limber approximation for galaxy clustering in future analyses like LSST Year 1 and DES Year 6 may cause significant biases in cosmological parameters, indicating that going beyond the Limber approximation is necessary for these analyses.

weak gravitational lensing↗

Insights into Native Single-Atom Electrocatalyst Site Structures

Single-atom electrocatalysts consisting of metal atoms embedded in a carbon matrix are promising next-generation catalysts for green hydrogen production and utilization, CO2 reduction, low-temperature CO oxidation, ammonia production, plastic decomposition, and electrochemical energy storage. The origins of activity and stability for the single-atom sites are still debatable, however, because of constrained insights into their local structure resulting from idealized models and experiments derived from a large number of individual sites. Insights into structural variations around single atomic sites are therefore critical for the continued development of these next-generation catalysts. While electron microscopy commonly provides atomic-scale information about these materials, the beam sensitivity of individual sites makes structural determination by conventional low-voltage (60 keV) techniques challenging. Here, we introduce ultralow-voltage electron ptychography, performed at 30 keV, that enables determination of the lattice structure around individual metal sites in a well-defined single-atom electrocatalyst system while essentially eliminating knock-on structural modifications. Pairing these atomic-scale, site-specific measurements with computational methods will broaden our understanding of the activity and stability of these materials, which will accelerate the development of the next generation of catalysts.

Zachman, Michael [ORNL] (ORCID:0000000319101357)↗

Using Al 3+ to Tailor Graphene Oxide Nanochannels: Impact on Membrane Stability and Permeability

Graphene oxide (GO) membranes, which form from the lamination of GO sheets, attract much attention due to their unique nanochannels. There is much interest in controlling the nanochannel structures and improving the aqueous stability of GO membranes so they can be effectively used in separation and filtration applications. This study employed a simple yet effective method of introducing trivalent aluminum cations to a GO sheet solution through the oxidation of aluminum foil, which modifies the nanochannels in the self-assembled GO membrane by increasing the inter-sheet distance while decreasing intra-sheet spacing. The Al 3+ modification resulted in an increase in membrane stability in water, methanol, ethanol, and propanol, yet decreased membrane permeability to water and propanol. These changes were attributed to strong interactions between Al 3+ and the membrane oxygenated functional groups, which resulted in an increase in membrane hydrophobicity and a decrease in the intra-sheet spacing as supported by surface tension, contact angle, atomic force microscopy, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy measurements. Our approach for forming Al 3+ modified GO membranes provides a method for improving the aqueous stability and tailoring the permeation selectivity of GO membranes, which have the potential to be implemented in vapor separation and fuel purification applications.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

Overcoming element quality dependence of finite elements with adaptive extended stencil FEM (AES‐FEM)

Summary The finite element methods (FEMs) are important techniques in engineering for solving partial differential equations, but they depend heavily on element shape quality for stability and good performance. In this paper, we introduce the Adaptive Extended Stencil Finite Element Method (AES‐FEM) as a means for overcoming this dependence on element shape quality. Our method replaces the traditional basis functions with a set of generalized Lagrange polynomial basis functions , which we construct using local weighted least‐squares approximations. The method preserves the theoretical framework of FEM and allows imposing essential boundary conditions and integrating the stiffness matrix in the same way as the classical FEM. In addition, AES‐FEM can use higher‐degree polynomial basis functions than the classical FEM, while virtually preserving the sparsity pattern of the stiffness matrix. We describe the formulation and implementation of AES‐FEM and analyze its consistency and stability. We present numerical experiments in both 2D and 3D for the Poisson equation and a time‐independent convection–diffusion equation. The numerical results demonstrate that AES‐FEM is more accurate than linear FEM, is also more efficient than linear FEM in terms of error versus runtime, and enables much better stability and faster convergence of iterative solvers than linear FEM over poor‐quality meshes. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Conley, Rebecca↗

Learning generative neural networks with physics knowledge

Deep generative neural networks have enabled modeling complex distributions, but incorporating physics knowledge into the neural networks is still challenging and is at the core of current physics-based machine learning research. To this end, we propose a physics generative neural network (PhysGNN), a new class of generative neural networks for learning unknown distributions in a physical system described by partial differential equations (PDE). PhysGNN couples PDE systems with generative neural networks. It is a fully differentiable model that allows back-propagation of gradients through both numerical PDE solvers and generative neural networks, and is trained by minimizing the discrete Wasserstein distance between generated and observed probability distributions of the PDE outputs using the stochastic gradient descent method. Moreover, PhysGNN does not require adversarial training like standard generative neural networks, which offers better stability than adversarial training. We show that PhysGNN can learn complex distributions in stochastic inverse problems, where conventional methods such as maximum likelihood estimation and momentum matching methods may be inapplicable when little knowledge is known about the form of unknown distributions or the physical model is too complex. Furthermore, our method allows physics-based generative neural network training for learning complex distributions in the context of differential equations.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗

High-efficiency, air-stable manganese–iron oxide nanoparticle-pigmented solar selective absorber coatings toward concentrating solar power systems operating at 750 °C

Solar selective absorber coating with long-term thermal stability at high temperatures ≥750 °C in air is an important component to reduce the levelized cost of energy (LCOE) of concentrating solar power (CSP) systems toward 50% power efficiency and dispatchable solar electricity. Conventionally, solar spectral selectivity requires multilayer-interference coatings implemented by stringently controlled vacuum deposition, and these coatings degrade significantly at >700 °C in air. Herein, we established a quantitative design approach and demonstrated a proof-of-concept air-stable, manganese–iron oxide nanoparticle (NP)-pigmented solar selective coatings with a high solar absorptance of ~93%, a relatively low thermal emittance of ~52%, and an optical-to-thermal energy conversion efficiency >89% under 1,000× solar concentration at 750 °C toward Generation 3 CSP systems. These coatings demonstrate spectral selectivity using cost-effective spray coating approach, a notable improvement over conventional vacuum-deposited, multilayer solar selective coatings for low-cost, high-efficiency solar thermal receivers. In contrast to the thermal degradation of spectrally non-selective benchmark Pyromark 2500 coatings at 750 °C in air, the solar absorptance of the MnFe 2 O 4 -pigmented coatings on stainless steel 310 (SS 310) substrates is increased to ~92.9% and the optical-to-thermal energy conversion efficiency is improved to 89.7% after serving at 750 °C in air for 700 h. X-ray diffraction results reveal that this improvement is due to the transformation of MnFe 2 O 4 NPs into more thermodynamically stable, non-stoichiometric manganese-rich manganese ferrite and iron-rich manganese–iron oxide phases after 500 h aging at 750 °C. For >1,000 h-endurance testing at 750 °C in air and the subsequent 19 day-night thermal cycling between 750 °C (12 h/cycle) and 25 °C (12 h/cycle) on SS 310 substrates, the thermal degradation is mainly due to the CrO x microflake formation from SS 310 substrates rather than the coatings, which can be suppressed by preoxidizing the surface of SS 310. With lower emittance matrix material and further optimization of pigment NP stoichiometry, concentration, and coating thickness, it is promising to achieve an optimized thermal efficiency ≥92.5% with long-term thermal stability at 750 °C for Generation 3 CSP systems.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗

High temperature shockwave stabilized single atoms

The stability of single-atom catalysts is critical for their practical applications. Although a high temperature can promote the bond formation between metal atoms and the substrate with an enhanced stability, it often causes atom agglomeration and is incompatible with many temperature-sensitive substrates. Here, we report using controllable high-temperature shockwaves to synthesize and stabilize single atoms at very high temperatures (1,500-2,000 K), achieved by a periodic on-off heating that features a short on state (55 ms) and a ten-times longer off state. The high temperature provides the activation energy for atom dispersion by forming thermodynamically favourable metal-defect bonds and the off-state critically ensures the overall stability, especially for the substrate. The resultant high-temperature single atoms exhibit a superior thermal stability as durable catalysts. In conclusion, the reported shockwave method is facile, ultrafast and universal (for example, Pt, Ru and Co single atoms, and carbon, C 3 N 4 and TiO 2 substrates), which opens a general route for single-atom manufacturing that is conventionally challenging.

42 ENGINEERING↗

Applying Linear Optics from Closed Orbits Modulation for finding beam-based alignment of harmonic sextupoles

A fast and accurate beam-based alignment (BBA) method for harmonic sextupoles has been devel oped at NSLS-II using Linear Optics from Closed Orbit Modulation (LOCOM). The approach excites the beam with simultaneous sine-wave signals at two fast correctors, chosen with an appropriate phase advance to span the full betatron phase space. This strategy suppresses systematic errors from hysteresis, while additional errors from orbit drift and power-supply calibration are minimized by the short measurement time (a few minutes) and reliance solely on beam-based current-to-field conver sion of the sextupoles, with hysteresis explicitly included. Simulations indicate that Linear Optics from Closed Orbits (LOCO) combined with 0.5 mm local orbit bumps can resolve relative sextupole field offsets (∆k₂) with precision better than 10% of k₂, reflecting to beam-based alignment (BBA) accuracy finer than 50 µm. Moreover, employing machine-learning-optimized local orbit bumps en hances sextupole-induced quadrupole signals in a deterministic manner and maintains orbit stability under large sextupole strength variations (±40%). The proposed method is experimentally validated through proof-of-principle measurements at NSLS-II, demonstrating its potential as a fast, precise, and robust tool for harmonic sextupole alignment.

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS↗

String instability mitigation of adaptive cruise control without modifying control laws: trajectory shaper and parameter estimation

Vehicle automation technologies equip vehicles with adaptive cruise control (ACC) systems, which relieve driving fatigue. However, recent studies have shown that the current ACC systems are string-unstable (i.e., exacerbate traffic congestion). To achieve string stability, most existing studies directly modify the control algorithms of ACC systems. Alternatively, this study proposes a trajectory shaper (TS)-based method, which only modifies the trajectory information of the predecessor vehicle, so that the ego vehicle driven by a string-unstable ACC system leverages the modified trajectory information to achieve string stability. To devise the TS-based method, an offline-online parameter estimation method integrating batch optimization and an extended Kalman filter is applied to estimate the parameters of an ACC system. The proposed TS-based method is cost-effective during implementation, as it avoids modifying existing ACC control algorithms (which entails a complex analysis of control systems and parameter tuning). In conclusion, the effectiveness of the proposed TS-based method is validated through extensive numerical experiments.

33 ADVANCED PROPULSION SYSTEMS↗

Means and methods for treating copper-related diseases

The present invention relates to the field of (bio-)medicine, and more particularly to the treatment of copper-related diseases. Novel means and methods for depleting (excess) copper from organs and/or the circulation are provided. Agents with a high copper binding affinity and stabilized forms thereof are provided, as well as a novel treatment regimen. The means and methods of the present invention are particularly useful for treatment of Wilson Disease, but also for treatment of other conditions.

Zischka, Hans↗

A stable 1D multigroup high-order low-order method

The high-order low-order (HOLO) method is a recently developed moment-based acceleration scheme for solving time-dependent thermal radiative transfer problems, and has been shown to exhibit orders of magnitude speedups over traditional time-stepping schemes. However, a linear stability analysis by Haut et al. (2015 Haut, T. S., Lowrie, R. B., Park, H., Rauenzahn, R. M., Wollaber, A. B. (2015). A linear stability analysis of the multigroup High-Order Low-Order (HOLO) method. In Proceedings of the Joint International Conference on Mathematics and Computation (M&C), Supercomputing in Nuclear Applications (SNA) and the Monte Carlo (MC) Method; Nashville, TN, April 19–23, 2015. American Nuclear Society.) revealed that the current formulation of the multigroup HOLO method was unstable in certain parameter regions. Since then, we have replaced the intensity-weighted opacity in the first angular moment equation of the low-order (LO) system with the Rosseland opacity. Furthermore, this results in a modified HOLO method (HOLO-R) that is significantly more stable.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗

Accessing alkali-free NASICON-type compounds through mixed oxoanion sol–gel chemistry: Hydrogen titanium phosphate sulfate, H{sub 1−x}Ti{sub 2}(PO{sub 4}){sub 3−x}(SO{sub 4}){sub x} (x=0.5–1)

We report a direct sol–gel synthesis and characterization of new proton-containing, rhombohedral NASICION-type titanium compounds with mixed phosphate and sulfate oxoanions. The synthetic conditions were established by utilizing peroxide ion as a decomposable and stabilizing ligand for titanyl ions in the presence of phosphates in a strong acidic medium. Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), powder X-ray diffraction (PXRD), induction-coupled plasma optical emission spectroscopic (ICP-OES) elemental analysis, and Raman and {sup 1}H magic angle spinning nuclear magnetic resonance (MAS-NMR) spectroscopic studies have determined the presence of sulfate and proton ions in the structure, for which the compositional range has been found to be H{sub 1−x}Ti{sub 2}(PO{sub 4}){sub 3−x}(SO{sub 4}){sub x} (x=0.5–1). The particulate products exhibit a nanocrystalline nature observed through characterization with scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The N{sub 2} sorption isotherm measurements and subsequent Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET) and Barrett–Joyner–Halenda (BJH) analyses confirmed the presence of the textural meso- and macropores in the materials. Future studies would determine the potential of the new compounds in various applications as battery materials, proton conductors and solid acid catalysts. - Graphical abstract: A series of proton-containing NASICON-type compounds, H{sub 1−x}Ti{sub 2}(PO{sub 4}){sub 3−x}(SO{sub 4}){sub x} (x=0.5–1), were discovered through a new sol–gel synthetic method that utilizes peroxide ion as a decomposable and stabilizing ligand for titanyl ions in the presence of phosphates in a strong acidic medium.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

An adaptive scalable fully implicit algorithm based on stabilized finite element for reduced visco-resistive MHD

The magnetohydrodynamics (MHD) equations are continuum models used in the study of a wide range of plasma physics systems, including the evolution of complex plasma dynamics in tokamak disruptions. However, efficient numerical solution methods for MHD are extremely challenging due to disparate time and length scales, strong hyperbolic phenomena, and nonlinearity. Additionally, therefore the development of scalable, implicit MHD algorithms and high-resolution adaptive mesh refinement strategies is of considerable importance. In this work, we develop a high-order stabilized finite-element algorithm for the reduced visco-resistive MHD equations based on the MFEM finite element library (mfem.org). The scheme is fully implicit, solved with the Jacobian-free Newton-Krylov (JFNK) method with a physics-based preconditioning strategy. Our preconditioning strategy is a generalization of the physics-based preconditioning methods in Chacón et al. (2002) to adaptive, stabilized finite elements. Algebraic multigrid methods are used to invert sub-block operators to achieve scalability. A parallel adaptive mesh refinement scheme with dynamic load-balancing is implemented to efficiently resolve the multi-scale spatial features of the system. Our implementation uses the MFEM framework, which provides arbitrary-order polynomials and flexible adaptive conforming and non-conforming meshes capabilities. Results demonstrate the accuracy, efficiency, and scalability of the implicit scheme in the presence of large scale disparity. The potential of the AMR approach is demonstrated on an island coalescence problem in the high Lundquist-number regime (≥ 10 7 ) with the successful resolution of plasmoid instabilities and thin current sheets.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗

Computational investigation on the structures and electronic properties of the nanosized rhenium clusters

Here, the stable equilibrium geometries, relative stabilities, and electronic and magnetic characteristics of Re n (n = 2–16) clusters were investigated by density functional theory method. The calculated fragmentation energies and second-order differences of energies exhibited interestingly that the stabilities of Re n (n = 2–16) clusters show a dramatic odd-even alternative behavior of the cluster size n: with the even-numbered Ren clusters being obviously more stable than their neighboring odd-numbered Re n clusters (beside n = 11). Simultaneously, the calculated HOMO-LUMO gaps of Re n (n = 6–16) display an oscillatory feature at large-sized Ren clusters. From the calculated magnetic moments and growth behaviors of Rhenium clusters, the magnetic Re 6 unit can be seen as the building block for the novel magnetic cluster-assembled nanomaterial. Such calculated results are in good agreement with the available experimental measurements.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Strontium cobaltite oxygen sponge catalyst and methods of use

Rapid, reversible redox activity may be accomplished at significantly reduced temperatures, as low as about 200.degree. C., from epitaxially stabilized, oxygen vacancy ordered SrCoO.sub.2.5 and thermodynamically unfavorable perovskite SrCoO.sub.3-.delta.. The fast, low temperature redox activity in SrCoO.sub.3-.delta. may be attributed to a small Gibbs free energy difference between the two topotactic phases. Epitaxially stabilized thin films of strontium cobaltite provide a catalyst adapted to rapidly transition between oxidation states at substantially low temperatures. Methods of transitioning a strontium cobaltite catalyst from a first oxidation state to a second oxidation state are described.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

Adaptive Time Step Control for Multirate Infinitesimal Methods

Multirate methods have been used for decades to temporally evolve initial-value problems in which different components evolve on distinct time scales, and thus use of different step sizes for these components can result in increased computational efficiency. Generally, such methods select these different step sizes based on experimentation or stability considerations. For problems that evolve on a single time scale, adaptivity approaches that strive to control local temporal error are widely used to achieve numerical results of a desired accuracy with minimal computational effort, while alleviating the need for manual experimentation with different time step sizes. However, there is a notable gap in the publication record on the development of adaptive time step controllers for multirate methods. In this paper, we extend the single-rate controller work of Gustafsson [ACM Trans. Math. Software, 20 (1994), pp. 496-517] to the multirate method setting. Specifically, we develop controllers based on polynomial approximations to the principal error functions for both the "fast" and "slow" time scales within multirate infinitesimal (MRI) methods. We additionally investigate a variety of approaches for estimating the errors arising from each time scale within MRI methods. We then numerically evaluate the proposed multirate controllers and error estimation strategies on a range of multirate test problems, comparing their performance against an estimated optimal performance. Through this work, we combine the most performant of these approaches to arrive at a set of multirate adaptive time step controllers that robustly achieve desired solution accuracy with minimal computational effort.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗

Small Fatigue Crack Growth Mechanisms and Interfacial Stability in Cold-Spray 6061 Aluminum Alloys and Coatings

Cold-spray-processed aluminum alloys have static mechanical properties superior to those of aerospace cast alloys, and similar to those of their wrought counterparts, making them good candidates for structural applications. However, their broad and confident use relies upon systematic fatigue crack growth studies to investigate and demonstrate the materials' performance in critical high-integrity components. In this work, the fatigue crack growth behavior in early stages (small crack growth regime) was investigated for cold-spray processed 6061 aluminum alloys and coatings, at stress ratio R = 0.1, in room temperature laboratory air. The effects of the characteristic microstructure and initial flaw size on the fatigue crack growth response were systematically examined, and the crack growth mechanisms at the microstructural scale were established and compared to those of long cracks. The mechanical interfacial stability of coatings was examined in cold-spray 6061-rolled 6061-T6 couples. An original method of quantifying the deposition-substrate interfacial strength, and correlating it to the response under cyclic loading via crack-interface stability maps, was developed. The proposed methodology is based on combined scratch testing and fracture mechanics formulations, and failure at the coating-substrate interface can be predicted for any crack growth scenario under cyclic loading. The method can be broadly used for the design and optimization of cold-spray and other coatings, as well as in structural repair.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗