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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 1,117 records · Page 62
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2015

RADIAL VELOCITY OBSERVATIONS AND LIGHT CURVE NOISE MODELING CONFIRM THAT KEPLER-91b IS A GIANT PLANET ORBITING A GIANT STAR

Kepler-91b is a rare example of a transiting hot Jupiter around a red giant star, providing the possibility to study the formation and composition of hot Jupiters under different conditions compared to main-sequence stars. However, the planetary nature of Kepler-91b, which was confirmed using phase-curve variations by Lillo-Box et al., was recently called into question based on a re-analysis of Kepler data. We have obtained ground-based radial velocity observations from the Hobby-Eberly Telescope and unambiguously confirm the planetary nature of Kepler-91b by simultaneously modeling the Kepler and radial velocity data. The star exhibits temporally correlated noise due to stellar granulation which we model as a Gaussian Process. We hypothesize that it is this noise component that led previous studies to suspect Kepler-91b to be a false positive. Our work confirms the conclusions presented by Lillo-Box et al. that Kepler-91b is a 0.73 ± 0.13 M {sub Jup} planet orbiting a red giant star.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2020

Black-Box Optimization for Design of Concentrating Solar Power and Photovoltaic Hybrid Systems with Optimal Dispatch Decisions

The hybridization of concentrating solar power (CSP) and photovoltaics (PV) can enable dispatchable renewable electricity generation at a lower price than current stand-alone CSP systems. However, designing a CSP-PV hybrid system can be challenging because of the many degrees of freedom in design that affect the internal and external system interactions and trade-offs. We develop a methodology to determine optimal designs for CSP-PV hybrids by implementing NLopt's derivative-free, or “black-box,” algorithms around pre-existing CSP-PV hybrid simulation software that utilizes the National Renewable Energy Laboratory’s System Advisor Model (SAM); we then employ a dispatch optimization model to determine operational decisions that maximize a plant’s profits. We present optimal designs for CSP-PV hybrid systems dispatching against four time-of-delivery (ToD) pricing structures. NLopt’s algorithms can improve the base case design’s power purchase agreement (PPA) price by 15% to 21%, depending on the ToD pricing structure. In addition, we present the resulting optimal CSP-PV hybrid design’s annual performance metrics, which tend to have capacity factors between 50% and 62%, but are able to generate electricity during the year’s highest-valued periods about 90% of the time. Lastly, we investigate the trade-offs between capacity factor and PPA price using Pareto fronts and demonstrate that, for some ToD pricing structures, the system capacity factor can increase by 20% but at the expense of a 2% increase in PPA price.

black-box↗
DOE OSTI2018

X-Ray Lines from Dark Matter Annihilation at the keV Scale

In 2014, several groups reported hints for a yet unidentified line in astrophysical x-ray signals from galaxies and galaxy clusters at an energy of 3.5 keV. While it is not unlikely that this line is simply a reflection of imperfectly modeled atomic transitions, it has renewed the community’s interest in models of keV-scale dark matter, whose decay would lead to such a line. The alternative possibility of dark matter annihilation into monochromatic photons is far less explored, a lapse that we strive to amend in this Letter. More precisely, we introduce a novel model of fermionic dark matter χ with O(keV) mass, annihilating to a scalar state Φ which in turn decays to photons, for instance via loops of heavy vectorlike fermions. The resulting photon spectrum is box shaped, but if χ and Φ are nearly degenerate in mass, it can also resemble a narrow line.We discuss dark matter production via two different mechanisms—misalignment and freeze-in —which both turn out to be viable in vast regions of parameter space. Furthermore, we constrain the model using astrophysical x-ray data, and we demonstrate that, thanks to the velocity dependence of the annihilation cross section, it has the potential to reconcile the various observations of the 3.5 keV line. We finally argue that the model can easily avoid structure formation constraints on keV-scale dark matter.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

A Simplified Model of VIPER Thermal Management System. Part I: Loop Heat Pipe

NASA’s Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover (VIPER) uses a combination of loop heat pipes (LHPs) and heaters as the primary hardware to modulate the temperature of the electronic boxes and payloads instruments. LHPs have been designed and instrumented to be capable of passive and active shutdown. The goal of the passive shutdown, using a thermal control valve (TCV) to limit the flow of the working fluid, is to preserve thermal energy and avoid unnecessary heat leaks during lunar night. The goal of the active shutdown on the other hand, is to forcefully increase the vehicle internal temperature to bakeout the payload instruments. Several numerical modeling tools are available to analyze LHP performance under the complex set of operational requirements and environments levied on the VIPER Thermal Management System (TMS). Yet, while those numerical modeling tools are capable of detailed performance analysis, they tend to take large computational resources and long computational time. In this paper, a model of a single LHP developed based on control volume approach is presented. By using the control volume approach, the complex geometry of the LHP, and the components attached to it, are reduced to thermal lump capacitances, thus reducing the computation effort. This paper also describes the effort to correlate the proposed LHP model using thermal vacuum (TVAC) test data.

Loop Heat Pipe↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

A Simplified Model of VIPER Thermal Management System. Part I: Loop Heat Pipe

NASA’s Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover (VIPER) uses a combination of loop heat pipes (LHPs) and heaters as the primary hardware to modulate the temperature of the electronic boxes and payloads instruments. LHPs have been designed and instrumented to be capable of passive and active shutdown. The goal of the passive shutdown, using a thermal control valve (TCV) to limit the flow of the working fluid, is to preserve thermal energy and avoid unnecessary heat leaks during lunar night. The goal of the active shutdown on the other hand, is to forcefully increase the vehicle internal temperature to bakeout the payload instruments. Several numerical modeling tools are available to analyze LHP performance under the complex set of operational requirements and environments levied on the VIPER Thermal Management System (TMS). Yet, while those numerical modeling tools are capable of detailed performance analysis, they tend to take large computational resources and long computational time. In this paper, a model of a single LHP developed based on control volume approach is presented. By using the control volume approach, the complex geometry of the LHP, and the components attached to it, are reduced to thermal lump capacitances, thus reducing the computation effort. This paper also describes the effort to correlate the proposed LHP model using thermal vacuum (TVAC) test data.

Loop Heat Pipe↗
NASA NTRS1990

Influence of structural and aerodynamic modeling on optimization with flutter constraint

The influences of structural and aerodynamic modeling on multidisciplinary optimization in an aeroelastic environment are not well understood. Therefore, optimizations with flutter and frequency constraints were performed to investigate the effects these modeling factors have on various representative wings. To this end, the Automated Structural Optimization System (ASTROS) was used as a tool to minimize the weight of various fully built-up finite element wing models in subsonic and supersonic flow under given flutter and frequency constraints. First, the performance of the optimization module was tested against results from other codes on a straight and uniform wing widely used for optimization with flutter constraints. Then, fully built-up finite element models of various wings with different aspect ratios were investigated for the influence on the structural optimization for minimum weight of the following modeling factors: finite element selection, structural grid refinement; number of selected modes, retention of breathing modes; selection of reduced frequencies to be used in flutter analysis; aerodynamic panel size and placement; splining of the aerodynamic grid to the structural grid selection of extra points of the structural wing box for splining; and number of constraints to be retained. Knowledge of these influences as well as of the program behavior is important, since optimization can be made more efficient by the selection of reasonable initial models. Also, it was shown previously that modeling has an impact on the results of modal and aeroelastic analyses. Thus, if modeling errors can negatively affect the analyses, a minimum weight optimization can be jeopardized and result in an optimal design that is rather unreliable. In the following, selected results are presented and the influences of some modeling parameters on optimization are pointed out.

Striz, Alfred G.↗
DOE OSTI2013

A field sampling strategy for semivariogram inference of fractures in rock outcrops

The stochastic continuum (SC) representation is one common approach for simulating the effects of fracture heterogeneity in groundwater flow and transport models. These SC reservoir models are generally developed using geostatistical methods (e.g., kriging or sequential simulation) that rely on the model semivariogram to describe the spatial variability of each continuum. Although a number of strategies for sampling spatial distributions have been published in the literature, little attention has been paid to the optimization of sampling in resource- or access-limited environments. Here we present a strategy for estimating the minimum sample spacing needed to define the spatial distribution of fractures on a vertical outcrop of basalt, located in the Box Canyon, east Snake River Plain, Idaho. We used fracture maps of similar basalts from the published literature to test experimentally the effects of different sample spacings on the resulting semivariogram model. Our final field sampling strategy was based on the lowest sample density that reproduced the semivariogram of the exhaustively sampled fracture map. Application of the derived sampling strategy to an outcrop in our field area gave excellent results, and illustrates the utility of this type of sample optimization. The method will work for developing a sampling plan for any intensive property, provided prior information for a similar domain is available; for example, fracture maps or ortho-rectified photographs from analogous rock types could be used to plan for sampling of a fractured rock outcrop.

58 GEOSCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2015

HYSTERESIS BETWEEN DISTINCT MODES OF TURBULENT DYNAMOS

Nonlinear mean-field models of the solar dynamo show long-term variability, which may be relevant to different states of activity inferred from long-term radiocarbon data. This paper is aimed at probing the dynamo hysteresis predicted by the recent mean-field models of Kitchatinov and Olemskoy with direct numerical simulations. We perform three-dimensional (3D) simulations of large-scale dynamos in a shearing box with helically forced turbulence. As an initial condition, we either take a weak random magnetic field or we start from a snapshot of an earlier simulation. Two quasi-stable states are found to coexist in a certain range of parameters close to the onset of the large-scale dynamo. The simulations converge to one of these states depending on the initial conditions. When either the fractional helicity or the magnetic Prandtl number is increased between successive runs above the critical value for onset of the dynamo, the field strength jumps to a finite value. However, when the fractional helicity or the magnetic Prandtl number is then decreased again, the field strength stays at a similar value (strong field branch) even below the original onset. We also observe intermittent decaying phases away from the strong field branch close to the point where large-scale dynamo action is just possible. The dynamo hysteresis seen previously in mean-field models is thus reproduced by 3D simulations. Its possible relation to distinct modes of solar activity such as grand minima is discussed.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2023

A small-box approach to the local crystal structure of Y 3 NbO 7

The local crystal structure of Y 3 NbO 7 was probed using neutron total scattering. Five different structural models were fit to the experimental pair distribution function of this material up to 15 Å. Fits of defect fluorite (Fm$\overline{3}$m), pyrochlore (Fd$\overline{3}$m), and orthorhombic C weberite models (C222 1 ) were attempted based on prior structural investigations of Y 3 NbO 7 and related fluorite-based materials. Orthorhombic P weberite (P222 1 ) and monoclinic weberite models (P112 1 ) were derived via symmetry reduction of the orthorhombic C weberite structure. All models except monoclinic weberite failed to reproduce the experimental pair distribution function. Misfits were clearly visible for peaks arising from atom pairs within the first coordination shell (defect fluorite and pyrochlore) and beyond (orthorhombic C and P weberite). By contrast, monoclinic weberite (γ ≈ 91.8°) provided an excellent fit, with no major misfits observed. This unit cell features distorted YO 8 dodecahedra, YO 7 monocapped octahedra, and NbO 6 octahedra as building blocks. Comparison between the topologies of the cationic and anionic substructures in monoclinic weberite and its parent orthorhombic C structure revealed displacements of the metal atoms along the [100] direction and a less compact spatial distribution of oxygen atoms along the a axis. In conclusion, the monoclinic weberite model presented herein may serve as a starting point to revisit structural modeling of fluorite-based materials with challenging local structures.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2018

A Dynamic Co-expression Map of Early Inflorescence Development in Setaria viridis Provides a Resource for Gene Discovery and Comparative Genomics

The morphological and functional diversity of plant form is governed by dynamic gene regulatory networks. In cereal crops, grain and/or pollen-bearing inflorescences exhibit vast architectural diversity and developmental complexity, yet the underlying genetic framework is only partly known. Setaria viridis is a small, rapidly growing grass species in the subfamily Panicoideae, a group that includes economically important cereal crops such as maize and sorghum. The S. viridis inflorescence displays complex branching patterns, but its early development is similar to that of other panicoid grasses, and thus is an ideal model for studying inflorescence architecture. Here we report a detailed transcriptional resource that captures dynamic transitions across six sequential stages of S. viridis inflorescence development, from reproductive onset to floral organ differentiation. Co-expression analyses identified stage-specific signatures of development, which include homologs of previously known developmental genes from maize and rice, suites of transcription factors and gene family members, and genes of unknown function. This spatiotemporal co-expression map and associated analyses provide a foundation for gene discovery in S. viridis inflorescence development, and a comparative model for exploring related architectural features in agronomically important cereals.

Plant Sciences↗
NASA NTRS1993

Computation of selected eigenvalues of generalized eigenvalue problems

The Arnoldi (1951) and Lanczos (1950) iterative algorithms are used to obtain a few selected eigenvalues of the generalized eigenvalue problem A(x) = lambdaB(x), where A and B are n x n nonsymmetric banded complex matrices. A shift-and-invert strategy is used to increase the rate of convergence toward the desired eigenvalues, and the two approaches are evaluated in view of their performance in a model problem concerning the linear stability of compressible boundary layers. A general scheme for computing the eigenvalues that lie within a 'box' in the complex plane is presented.

Nayar, Narinder↗
NASA NTRS2006

Classes of Split-Plot Response Surface Designs for Equivalent Estimation

When planning an experimental investigation, we are frequently faced with factors that are difficult or time consuming to manipulate, thereby making complete randomization impractical. A split-plot structure differentiates between the experimental units associated with these hard-to-change factors and others that are relatively easy-to-change and provides an efficient strategy that integrates the restrictions imposed by the experimental apparatus. Several industrial and scientific examples are presented to illustrate design considerations encountered in the restricted randomization context. In this paper, we propose classes of split-plot response designs that provide an intuitive and natural extension from the completely randomized context. For these designs, the ordinary least squares estimates of the model are equivalent to the generalized least squares estimates. This property provides best linear unbiased estimators and simplifies model estimation. The design conditions that allow for equivalent estimation are presented enabling design construction strategies to transform completely randomized Box-Behnken, equiradial, and small composite designs into a split-plot structure.

Parker, Peter A.↗
NASA NTRS2005

The Virtual Solar Observatory: Still a Small Box

Two and a half years after a design study began, and a year and a half after development commenced, version 1.0 of the Virtual Solar Observatory (VSO) was released at the 2004 Fall AGU meeting. Although internal elements of the VSO have changed, the basic design has remained the same, reflecting the team's belief in the importance of a simple, robust mechanism for registering data provider holdings, initiating queries at the appropriate provider sites, aggregating the responses, allowing the user to iterate before making a final selection, and enabling the delivery of data directly from the providers. In order to make the VSO transparent, lightweight, and portable, the developers employed XML for the registry, SOAP for communication between a VSO instance and data services, and HTML for the graphic user interface (GUI's). We discuss the internal data model, the API, and user responses to various trial GUI's as typical design issues for any virtual observatory. We also discuss the role of the "small box" of data search, identification, and delivery services provided by the VSO in the larger, Sun-Solar System Connection virtual observatory (VxO) scheme.

Gurman, J. B.↗
DOE OSTI2013

DETERMINATION OF STOCHASTIC ACCELERATION MODEL CHARACTERISTICS IN SOLAR FLARES

Following our recent paper, we have developed an inversion method to determine the basic characteristics of the particle acceleration mechanism directly and non-parametrically from observations under the leaky box framework. Earlier, we demonstrated this method for obtaining the energy dependences of the escape time and pitch angle scattering time. Here, by converting the Fokker-Planck equation to its integral form, we derive the energy dependences of the energy diffusion coefficient and direct acceleration rate for stochastic acceleration in terms of the accelerated and escaping particle spectra. Combining the regularized inversion method of Piana et al. and our procedure, we relate the acceleration characteristics in solar flares directly to the count visibility data from RHESSI. We determine the timescales for electron escape, pitch angle scattering, energy diffusion, and direct acceleration at the loop top acceleration region for two intense solar flares based on the regularized electron flux spectral images. The X3.9 class event shows dramatically different energy dependences for the acceleration and scattering timescales, while the M2.1 class event shows a milder difference. The discrepancy between the M2.1 class event and the stochastic acceleration model could be alleviated by a turbulence spectrum that is much steeper than the Kolmogorov-type spectrum. A likely explanation of the X3.9 class event could be that the escape of electrons from the acceleration region is not governed by a random walk process, but instead is affected by magnetic mirroring, in which the scattering time is proportional to the escape time and has an energy dependence similar to the energy diffusion time.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2021

FOXM1-activated SIRT4 inhibits NF-κB signaling and NLRP3 inflammasome to alleviate kidney injury and podocyte pyroptosis in diabetic nephropathy

Highlights: • FOXM1 is downregulated in kidney tissues of patients with DN. • Overexpression of FOXM1 alleviates kidney injury in DN modeled mice. • Overexpression of FOXM1 reduces pyroptosis of HG-treated podocytes. • FOXM1 activates SIRT4 to inhibit the NFκB pathway and the NLRP3 inflammasome. • Downregulation of SIRT4 blocks the protective roles of FOXM1 in podocytes and mice. Forkhead box M1 (FOXM1) has been reported to play a protective role against acute kidney injury by driving tubular regeneration. This study aims to probe the function of FOXM1 in diabetic nephropathy (DN) and the molecules involved. FOXM1 was poorly expressed in DN-diseased kidney tissues. A murine model of DN was established, and podocytes cells (MPC5) were treated with high-glucose (HG) for in vitro studies. FOXM1 overexpression improved kidney function and reduced pathological changes in mice, and it increased the expression of the podocyte marker Nephrin in kidney tissues. In vitro, FOXM1 increased viability and reduced pyroptosis of the HG-treated MPC5 cells, and it elevated the expression of the podocyte marker Nephrin whereas reduced the expression of pyroptosis-related NLRP3 inflammasome and cleaved caspase 1. FOXM1 bound to the promoter of sirtuin 4 (SIRT4) to induce transcriptional activation. Downregulation of SIRT4 blocked the protective roles of FOXM1 both in vivo and in vitro. Phosphorylation of nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-κB) in HG-treated cells was suppressed by FOXM1 but restored after SIRT4 inhibition. In conclusion, this study suggested that FOXM1 transcriptionally activates SIRT4 and inhibits NF-κB signaling and the NLRP3 inflammasome to alleviate kidney injury and podocyte pyroptosis in DN.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗
NASA NTRS2001

Multiple Radially Aligned Plasmaspheric Structures as Evidence of Standing Hydromagnetic Waves: IMAGE EUV Observations and Forward Modeling

The IMAGE EUV imager has observed several instances where the outer plasmasphere is populated by multiple radially aligned structures resembling "plasmaspheric fingers". The observation of these plasmaspheric structures suggests the presence of an azimuthal standing hydromagnetic wave mode. Eiganmodes appear to explain finger-like. nearly radial density structures that sometimes divide into two structures with increasing radial distance. The implication is of boundaries at fixed local times, which results in a widening "box" in which standing waves are developed. The structures also suggest a single driving frequency for the source of the waves. We present EUV observations of plasmaspheric fingers observed on August 2000 as well as plasmaspheric modeling of azimuthal wave modes in an effort to quantify the origin of these observed structures

Gallagher, D. L.↗
DOE OSTI2020

Modeling the smoky troposphere of the southeast Atlantic: a comparison to ORACLES airborne observations from September of 2016

The southeast Atlantic is home to well-defined smoke outflow from Africa coinciding vertically with extensive marine boundary-layer cloud decks, both reaching their climatological maxima in spatial extent around September. A framework is put forth for evaluating the performance of a range of global and regional aerosol models against observations made during the NASA ORACLES (ObseRvations of Aerosols above CLouds and their intEractionS) airborne mission in September 2016. The sparse airborne observations are first aggregated into 2o grid boxes and into three vertical layers: the cloud-topped marine boundary layer (MBL), the layer from cloud top to 3 km, and the 3-6 km layer. Aerosol extensive properties simulated for the entire study region for all September suggest that the 2016 ORACLES observations are reasonably representative of the regional monthly average, with systematic deviations of 30% or less. All six models typically place the bottom of the smoke layer at lower altitudes than do the airborne lidar observations by 300-1400 m, whereas model aerosol top heights are within 0-500 m of the observations. All but one of the models that report carbonaceous aerosol masses underestimate the ratio of particulate extinction to the masses, a proxy for mass extinction efficiency, in 3-6 km. Notable findings on individual models include that WRF-CAM5 predicts the mass of black carbon and organic aerosols with minor (~10% or less) biases. GEOS-5 overestimates the carbonaceous particle masses in the MBL by a factor of 3-6. Extinction coefficients in the free troposphere (FT) and above-cloud aerosol optical depth (ACAOD) are 10-30% lower in WRF-CAM5, 30-50% lower in GEOS-5, 10-40% higher in GEOS-Chem, 10-20% higher in EAM-E3SM except for the practically unbiased 3-6 km extinction, and 20-70% lower in the Unified Model, than the airborne in situ, lidar and sunphotometer measurements. ALADIN-Climate also underestimates the ACAOD, by 30%. GEOS-5 and GEOS-Chem predict carbon monoxide in the MBL with small (10% or less) negative biases, despite their overestimates of carbonaceous aerosol masses. Overall, this study highlights a new approach to utilizing airborne aerosol measurements for model diagnosis.

Shinozuka, Yohei↗
DOE OSTI2022

How to see hidden patterns in metamaterials with interpretable machine learning

Machine learning models can assist with metamaterials design by approximating computationally expensive simulators or solving inverse design problems. However, past work has usually relied on black box deep neural networks, whose reasoning processes are opaque and require enormous datasets that are expensive to obtain. Here, in this work, we develop two novel machine learning approaches to metamaterials discovery that have neither of these disadvantages. These approaches, called shape-frequency features and unit-cell templates, can discover 2D metamaterials with user-specified frequency band gaps. Our approaches provide logical rule-based conditions on metamaterial unit-cells that allow for interpretable reasoning processes, and generalize well across design spaces of different resolutions. The templates also provide design flexibility where users can almost freely design the fine resolution features of a unit-cell without affecting the user’s desired band gap.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗