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At least 1,405 records · Page 78

MASK4 Test Campaign for Sandia WaveBot Device

This data and report details the findings from a wave tank test focused on production of useful work of a wave energy converter (WEC) device. The experimental system and test were specifically designed to validate models for power transmission throughout the WEC system. Additionally, the validity of co-design informed changes to the power take-off (PTO) were assessed and shown to provide the expected improvements in system performance. These data describe the "MASK4" wave tank test of the Sandia WaveBot device. The WaveBot device has been tested a number of times in different permutations at the US Navy's Maneuvering and Sea Keeping (MASK) basin. Each test in this series is referred to as MASK1, MASK2, etc. The WaveBot device was first tested in one degree of freedom (heave) in 2016. This MASK1 test focused primarily on system identification and modeling. After MASK1, major modifications were performed to improve the overall real-time control and measurement system, improve the heave drive train, and add surge and pitch degrees of freedom. The second set of testing, which was broken up in to two stages: MASK2A and MASK2B, focused on bench testing and closed-loop control performance as well as nonlinear modeling. MASK3 then focused on multi-input, multi-output modeling and control for maximization of electrical power. The attached report presents the results from MASK4, which focuses on detailed modeling of the power conversion chain and validation co-design principles by way of the introduction of a magnetic spring. The test log, report, and data from the MASK4 test of the WaveBot augmented with a tunable magnetic spring. Processing codes can be found at the Github link below.

16 TIDAL AND WAVE POWER↗

Expanding NeMO-Net Machine Learning Capabilities for Citizen Science

NASA NeMO-Net, the neural multi-modal observation and training network for global coral reef assessment, is an open-source deep convolutional neural network and interactive active learning training software aiming to accurately assess the present and past dynamics of coral reef ecosystems through determination of percent living cover and morphology as well as mapping of spatial distribution. We present an interactive citizen science video game, released this April, for desktop and iOS devices where users interactively label morphology classifications over mm-scale 3D coral reef imagery captured using diver photomosaic imagery, the UAV enabled NASA FluidCam instrument, and satellite datasets. To date, the application has had over 40,000 downloads and over60,000 unique coral reef classifications, each filtered through a user-based rating and expert evaluation system. We also present results from NeMO-Net’s convolutional neural network (CNN) models used to semantically segment 2D satellite imagery as well as projections of 3D coral reconstructions using user input data as training datasets. Fusing datasets using machine learning from multiple remote sensing platforms presents novel methodologies for assessing the health of coral ecosystems, which are critically endangered by a changing climate. In partnering with Mission Blue, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), and the Living Oceans Foundation (LOF), NeMO-Net leverages an international consortium of subject matter experts to provide both proper training for citizen scientists and the generation of a labeled datasets to ingest into machine learning algorithms for global coral reef identification.

NeMO-Net↗

Coaxial GaAs-AlGaAs core-multishell nanowire lasers with epitaxial gain control

We demonstrate the growth and single-mode lasing operation of GaAs-AlGaAs core-multishell nanowires (NW) with radial single and multiple GaAs quantum wells (QWs) as active gain media. When subject to optical pumping lasing emission with distinct s-shaped input-output characteristics, linewidth narrowing and emission energies associated with the confined QWs are observed. Comparing the low temperature performance of QW NW laser structures having 7 coaxial QWs with a nominally identical structure having only a single QW shows that the threshold power density reduces several-fold, down to values as low as ∼2.4 kW/cm{sup 2} for the multiple QW NW laser. This confirms that the individual radial QWs are electronically weakly coupled and that epitaxial design can be used to optimize the gain characteristics of the devices. Temperature-dependent investigations show that lasing prevails up to 300 K, opening promising new avenues for efficient III–V semiconductor NW lasers with embedded low-dimensional gain media.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗

Modeling of the metal–insulator transition temperature in alio-valently doped VO 2 through symbolic regression

The correlated semiconductor vanadium dioxide (VO 2 ) exhibits an insulator–metal transition (IMT) near room temperature, which is of interest in various device applications. Precise IMT temperature control is crucial to determine the use cases across technologies such as thermochromic windows, actuators for robots or neuronal oscillators. Doping the cation or anion sites can modulate the IMT by several tens of degrees and control hysteresis. However, modeling the effects of control parameters (e.g., doping concentration, type of dopants) is challenging due to complex experimental procedures and limited data, hindering the use of traditional data-driven machine learning approaches. Symbolic regression (SR) can bridge this gap by identifying nonlinear expressions connecting key input parameters to target properties, even with small data sets. In this work, we develop SR models to capture the IMT trends in VO 2 influenced by different dopant parameters. Using experimental data from the literature, our study reveals a dual nature of the IMT temperature with varying tungsten (W) doping concentrations. The symbolic model captures data trends and accounts for experimental variability, providing a complementary approach to first-principles calculations. Our feature-driven analysis across a broader class of dopants informs selectivity and provides qualitative insights into tuning phase transition properties valuable for neuromorphic computing and thermochromic windows.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Verification and compensation of respiratory motion using an ultrasound imaging system

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to determine if it is feasible to use ultrasound imaging as an aid for moving the treatment couch during diagnosis and treatment procedures associated with radiation therapy, in order to offset organ displacement caused by respiratory motion. A noninvasive ultrasound system was used to replace the C-arm device during diagnosis and treatment with the aims of reducing the x-ray radiation dose on the human body while simultaneously being able to monitor organ displacements. Methods: This study used a proposed respiratory compensating system combined with an ultrasound imaging system to monitor the compensation effect of respiratory motion. The accuracy of the compensation effect was verified by fluoroscopy, which means that fluoroscopy could be replaced so as to reduce unnecessary radiation dose on patients. A respiratory simulation system was used to simulate the respiratory motion of the human abdomen and a strain gauge (respiratory signal acquisition device) was used to capture the simulated respiratory signals. The target displacements could be detected by an ultrasound probe and used as a reference for adjusting the gain value of the respiratory signal used by the respiratory compensating system. This ensured that the amplitude of the respiratory compensation signal was a faithful representation of the target displacement. Results: The results show that performing respiratory compensation with the assistance of the ultrasound images reduced the compensation error of the respiratory compensating system to 0.81–2.92 mm, both for sine-wave input signals with amplitudes of 5, 10, and 15 mm, and human respiratory signals; this represented compensation of the respiratory motion by up to 92.48%. In addition, the respiratory signals of 10 patients were captured in clinical trials, while their diaphragm displacements were observed simultaneously using ultrasound. Using the respiratory compensating system to offset, the diaphragm displacement resulted in compensation rates of 60%–84.4%. Conclusions: This study has shown that a respiratory compensating system combined with noninvasive ultrasound can provide real-time compensation of the respiratory motion of patients.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗

Six Degrees of Freedom Control with Each Hand?

For some time man has made six degree of freedom inputs to a pair of dextrous manipulators using both hands simultaneously by the use of the master/slave concept. The advent of the microprocessor has the potential to make the master/slave concept redundant by replacing the master with a mathematical model. All spacecraft to date, including the space shuttle, that were flown in six degrees of freedom were controlled by using both hands, the left hand controlling translation and the right rotation. Almost inevitably the same principle was applied to the CANADARM. At the instigation of NASA the development of a device whereby both translation and rotation could be combined allowing full control with one hand was developed. The development and testing of the device, and the extension of its application into spaceflight control are described. Also the concept of an adaptable workstation for multi-maniipulator and spacecraft flight control is discussed.

King, M. L.↗

Expanding NeMO-Net Machine Learning Capabilities for Citizen Science

NASA NeMO-Net, the neural multi-modal observation and training network for global coral reef assessment, is an open-source deep convolutional neural network and interactive active learning training software aiming to accurately assess the present and past dynamics of coral reef ecosystems through determination of percent living cover and morphology as well as mapping of spatial distribution. We present an interactive citizen science video game, released this April, for desktop and iOS devices where users interactively label morphology classifications over mm-scale 3D coral reef imagery captured using diver photomosaic imagery, the UAV enabled NASA FluidCam instrument, and satellite datasets. To date, the application has had over 40,000 downloads and over 60,000 unique coral reef classifications, each filtered through a user-based rating and expert evaluation system. We also present results from NeMO-Net’s convolutional neural network (CNN) models used to semantically segment 2D satellite imagery as well as projections of 3D coral reconstructions using user input data as training datasets. Fusing datasets using machine learning from multiple remote sensing platforms presents novel methodologies for assessing the health of coral ecosystems, which are critically endangered by a changing climate. In partnering with Mission Blue, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), and the Living Oceans Foundation (LOF), NeMO-Net leverages an international consortium of subject matter experts to provide both proper training for citizen scientists and the generation of a labeled datasets to ingest into machine learning algorithms for global coral reef identification.

NeMO-Net↗

SU-E-T-252: On the Evaluation of Patient Specific IMRT QA Using EPID, Dynalog Files and Patient Anatomy

Purpose: This research, investigates the viability of using the Electronic portal imaging device (EPID) coupled with the treatment planning system (TPS), to calculate the doses delivered and verify agreement with the treatment plan. The results of QA analysis using the EPID, Delta4 and fluence calculations using the multi-leaf collimator (MLC) dynalog files on 10 IMRT patients are presented in this study. Methods: EPID Fluence Images in integrated mode and Dynalog files for each field were acquired for 10 IMRT (6MV) patients and processed through an in house MatLab program to create an opening density matrix (ODM) which was used as the input fluence for dose calculation with the TPS (Pinnacle3, Philips). The EPID used in this study was the aSi1000 Varian on a Novalis TX linac equipped with high definition MLC. The resulting dose distributions were then exported to VeriSoft (PTW) where a 3D gamma was calculated using 3mm-3% criteria. The Scandidos Delta4 phantom was also used to measure a 2D dose distribution for all 10 patients and a 2D gamma was calculated for each patient using the Delta4 software. Results: The average 3D gamma for all 10 patients using the EPID images was 98.2% ± 2.6%. The average 3D gamma using the dynalog files was 94.6% ± 4.9%. The average 2D gamma from the Delta4 was 98.1% ± 2.5%. The minimum 3D gamma for the EPID and dynalog reconstructed dose distributions was found on the same patient which had a very large PTV, requiring the jaws to open to the maximum field size. Conclusion: Use of the EPID, combined with a TPS is a viable method for QA of IMRT plans. A larger ODM size can be implemented to accommodate larger field sizes. An adaptation of this process to Volumetric Arc Therapy (VMAT) is currently under way.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗

CPAP Ventilators Needed for Rapid Response to COVID-19 by Modification of CPAP Equipment

Early on in the COVID-19 pandemic, potential ventilator shortages were a critical issue identified by national health care providers. Capacity modeling at the time suggested patient demand may exceed ventilator supply. Thus, the challenge became finding an urgent interim solution to meet health care needs. Our initial hypothesis was that CPAP technology could be modified to provide similar functionality to a ventilator, relieving demand and allowing physicians to decide which patients need high end machines, ultimately saving lives. In conjunction with medical experts and pulmonologists, we were able to identify three key thrusts associated with this research problem: (1) modification of CPAP technology to allow for 02 input that would be capable of providing ventilation; (2) development of an alarming function that would provide real-time audible alarms to alert medical personnel to critical conditions, which would be used inline with CPAP technology; and (3) a method of sterilizing expiratory air from such a system in order to protect medical personnel from biohazard, since CPAPs vent to the atmosphere. We were unable to realize results for thrust 1 (CPAP modification for 02); we identified potential safety issues associated with utilizing medical grade oxygen with a common CPAP device. In order to characterize and mitigate these issues, we would need to partner closely with a device manufacturer; such a partnership could not be achieved in the timeframe needed for this rapid response work. However, we determined that some medical grade BiPAP devices do not need this modification and that the significant progress on thrusts 2 and 3 would be sufficient to buy down risk of a massive ventilator shortage. Our team built a prototype alarm system that can be utilized with any assistive respiratory device to alert on all key conditions identified by medical personnel (high pressure, low pressure, apnea, loss of power, low battery). Finally, our team made significant progress in the rapid prototyping and demonstration of an inline UV air purifier device. The device is cost efficient and can be manufactured at scale with both commercially available and additively manufactured parts. Initial tests with SARS-CoV-2 analog bacteriophage MS2 show 99% efficacy at reducing bioburden. Following a successful demonstration of the prototype device with medical personnel, we were able to obtain follow-on (non-LDRD) funding to provide additional device characterization, validation, and production in order to respond to an immediate regional need.

42 ENGINEERING↗

Supervisory Algorithm for Autonomous Hemodynamic Management Systems

Future military conflicts will require new solutions to manage combat casualties. The use of automated medical systems can potentially address this need by streamlining and augmenting the delivery of medical care in both emergency and combat trauma environments. However, in many situations, these systems may need to operate in conjunction with other autonomous and semi-autonomous devices. Management of complex patients may require multiple automated systems operating simultaneously and potentially competing with each other. Supervisory controllers capable of harmonizing multiple closed-loop systems are thus essential before multiple automated medical systems can be deployed in managing complex medical situations. The objective for this study was to develop a Supervisory Algorithm for Casualty Management (SACM) that manages decisions and interplay between two automated systems designed for management of hemorrhage control and resuscitation: an automatic extremity tourniquet system and an adaptive resuscitation controller. SACM monitors the required physiological inputs for both systems and synchronizes each respective system as needed. We present a series of trauma experiments carried out in a physiologically relevant benchtop circulatory system in which SACM must recognize extremity or internal hemorrhage, activate the corresponding algorithm to apply a tourniquet, and then resuscitate back to the target pressure setpoint. SACM continues monitoring after the initial stabilization so that additional medical changes can be quickly identified and addressed, essential to extending automation algorithms past initial trauma resuscitation into extended monitoring. Overall, SACM is an important step in transitioning automated medical systems into emergency and combat trauma situations. Future work will address further interplay between these systems and integrate additional medical systems.

42 ENGINEERING↗

Boundary layer control by acoustic excitation

An experimental program in which the effectiveness of a single large eddy break-up device (LEBU) blade is enhanced by proper acoustic excitation is described. An acoustic pulse, phase-locked to the incident large eddies and directed at the LEBU can enhance the large eddy cancellation process and can in effect lead to a decrease in the skin friction coefficient. Cross-correlation data and turbulence intensity measurements show that this acoustic excitation causes eddy cancellation at the trailing edge of the manipulator plate. It is concluded that both reduced turbulent boundary layer mixing and significant drag reduction can be achieved upon proper acoustic input to a LEBU.

Papathanasiou, A. G.↗

Two dimensional analysis of a high temperature gaseous radiation receiver

The characteristics of the Flowing Gas Radiation Receiver (FGRR), a device that absorbs solar radiation volumetrically in a gas to produce high temperatures for space propulsion and power applications, are analyzed using a two-dimensional axisymmetric numerical model of the flow and radiation fields within a diffusely reflecting channel. The results show that an FGRR system is capable of generating temperatures in excess of 3000 K with collection efficiencies of approximately 75 percent for a channel with a reflectivity of 0.9. For a collinear radiation source, outflow temperatures of 3193 and 3092 K were achieved for axial and radial flow inputs, respectively, with receiver efficiencies of 0.82 and 0.76.

Mcfall, K. A.↗

Device, system and method for a sensing electrical circuit

The invention relates to a driven ground electrical circuit. A driven ground is a current-measuring ground termination to an electrical circuit with the current measured as a vector with amplification. The driven ground module may include an electric potential source V.sub.S driving an electric current through an impedance (load Z) to a driven ground. Voltage from the source V.sub.S excites the minus terminal of an operational amplifier inside the driven ground which, in turn, may react by generating an equal and opposite voltage to drive the net potential to approximately zero (effectively ground). A driven ground may also be a means of passing information via the current passing through one grounded circuit to another electronic circuit as input. It may ground one circuit, amplify the information carried in its current and pass this information on as input to the next circuit.

Vranish, John M.↗

Method and apparatus for reordering in a non-uniform compute device

A data processing apparatus includes a multi-level memory system, one or more first processing unit coupled to the memory system at a first level and one or more second processing units each coupled to the memory system at a second level. A first reorder buffer maintains data order during execution of instructions by the first and second processing units and a second reorder buffer maintains data order during execution of the instructions by an associated second processing unit. An entry in the first reorder buffer is configured, dependent upon an indicator bit, as an entry for a single instruction or a pointer to an entry in the second reorder buffer. An entry in the second reorder buffer includes instruction block start and end addresses and indicators of input and output register. Instructions are released to a processing unit when all inputs, as indicated by the reorder buffers, are available.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗

Broadside coupled coplanar inductors

A broadside coupled coplanar inductor device includes first and second coplanar inductors in which the conductors of the first and second coplanar inductors are broadside coupled. The conductors are located one above the other at a first distance and the return paths are located to the side of the respective first and second conductor signal paths at a second distance. One or both of the dimensions of the first and second first distances is defined so as to maximize a mutual inductance between the conductors. First and second driver circuit apply voltages across each conductor. The input pulse width modulation signals applied to the first and second driver circuits are 180 degrees out of phase.

Takken, Todd E.↗

Computational synthesis of 2D materials: A high-throughput approach to materials design

2D materials find promising applications in next-generation devices, however, large-scale, low-defect, and reproducible synthesis of 2D materials remains a challenging task. Here, to assist in the selection of suitable substrates for the synthesis of as-yet hypothetical 2D materials, we have developed an open-source high-throughput workflow package, Hetero2d, that searches for low-lattice mismatched substrate surfaces for any 2D material and determines the stability of these 2D-substrate heterostructures using density functional theory (DFT) simulations. Hetero2d automates the generation of 2D-substrate heterostructures, the creation of DFT input files, the submission and monitoring of computational jobs on supercomputing facilities, and the storage of relevant parameters alongside the post-processed results in a MongoDB database. We demonstrate the capability of Hetero2d in identifying stable 2D-substrate heterostructures for four 2D materials, namely 2H-MoS 2 , 1T- and 2H-NbO 2 , and hexagonal-ZnTe, considering 50 cubic elemental substrates. We find Cu, Hf, Mn, Nd, Ni, Pd, Re, Rh, Sc, Ta, Ti, V, W, Y, and Zr substrates sufficiently stabilize the formation energies of these 2D materials, with binding energies in the range of ~0.1–0.6 eV/atom. Upon examining the z-separation, the charge transfer, and the electronic density of states at the 2D-substrate interface, we find a covalent type bonding at the interface which suggests that these substrates can be used as contact materials for the 2D materials. Hetero2d is available on GitHub as an open-source package under the GNU license.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Active learning for accelerated design of layered materials

Hetero-structures made from vertically stacked monolayers of transition metal dichalcogenides hold great potential for optoelectronic and thermoelectric devices. Discovery of the optimal layered material for specific applications necessitates the estimation of key material properties, such as electronic band structure and thermal transport coefficients. However, screening of material properties via brute force ab initio calculations of the entire material structure space exceeds the limits of current computing resources. Moreover, the functional dependence of material properties on the structures is often complicated, making simplistic statistical procedures for prediction difficult to employ without large amounts of data collection. Here, we present a Gaussian process regression model, which predicts material properties of an input hetero-structure, as well as an active learning model based on Bayesian optimization, which can efficiently discover the optimal hetero-structure using a minimal number of ab initio calculations. The electronic band gap, conduction/valence band dispersions, and thermoelectric performance are used as representative material properties for prediction and optimization. The Materials Project platform is used for electronic structure computation, while the BoltzTraP code is used to compute thermoelectric properties. Bayesian optimization is shown to significantly reduce the computational cost of discovering the optimal structure when compared with finding an optimal structure by building a regression model to predict material properties. The models can be used for predictions with respect to any material property and our software, including data preparation code based on the Python Materials Genomics (PyMatGen) library as well as python-based machine learning code, is available open source.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Arbitrary-ratio power splitter based on nonlinear multimode interference coupler

We propose an ultra-compact multimode interference (MMI) power splitter based on nonlinear effects from simulations using nonlinear modal propagation analysis (NMPA) cooperation with finite difference Method (FDM) to access free choice of splitting ratio. Conventional multimode interference power splitter could only obtain a few discrete ratios. The power splitting ratio may be adjusted continuously while the input set power is varying by a tunable laser. In fact, using an ultra- compact MMI with a simple structure that is launched by a tunable nonlinear input fulfills the problem of arbitrary-ratio in integrated photonics circuits. Silicon on insulator (SOI) is used as the offered material due to the high contrast refractive index and Centro symmetric properties. The high-resolution images at the end of the multimode waveguide in the simulated power splitter have a high power balance, whereas access to a free choice of splitting ratio is not possible under the linear regime in the proposed length range except changes in the dimension for any ratio. The compact dimensions and ideal performance of the device are established according to optimized parameters. The proposed regime can be extended to the design of M×N arbitrary power splitters ratio for programmable logic devices in all optical digital signal processing. The results of this study indicate that nonlinear modal propagation analysis solves the miniaturization problem for all-optical devices based on MMI couplers to achieve multiple functions in a compact planar integrated circuit and also overcomes the limitations of previously proposed methods for nonlinear MMI.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗