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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 163 records · Page 9

Dynamics of Nanoscale Grain-Boundary Decohesion in Aluminum by Molecular-Dynamics Simulation

The dynamics and energetics of intergranular crack growth along a flat grain boundary in aluminum is studied by a molecular-dynamics simulation model for crack propagation under steady-state conditions. Using the ability of the molecular-dynamics simulation to identify atoms involved in different atomistic mechanisms, it was possible to identify the energy contribution of different processes taking place during crack growth. The energy contributions were divided as: elastic energy, defined as the potential energy of the atoms in fcc crystallographic state; and plastically stored energy, the energy of stacking faults and twin boundaries; grain-boundary and surface energy. In addition, monitoring the amount of heat exchange with the molecular-dynamics thermostat gives the energy dissipated as heat in the system. The energetic analysis indicates that the majority of energy in a fast growing crack is dissipated as heat. This dissipation increases linearly at low speed, and faster than linear at speeds approaching 1/3 the Rayleigh wave speed when the crack tip becomes dynamically unstable producing periodic dislocation bursts until the crack is blunted.

Yamakov, V.↗

Analysis of Dynamical Peculiarities in Nanoalloys at Subsystems Level: Dynamical Degrees of Freedom, Temperature Differences, and the Chameleon Effect

Abstract A novel analysis of the dynamical behavior of nanoalloy systems, as represented by model Ni/Al 13‐atom clusters, over a broad range of energies that cover the stage‐wise transition of the systems from their solid‐like to liquid‐like state is presented. Conceptually, the analysis is rooted in partitioning the systems into judiciously chosen subsystems and characterizing the latter in terms of subsystem‐specific dynamical descriptors that include dynamical degrees of freedom , root‐mean‐square bond‐length fluctuation , and element‐specific subsystem temperature . The analysis reveals a host of intriguing new peculiarities in the dynamical behavior of the Ni/Al 13‐mers, among which are what we call the chameleon effect and the difference in the temperatures of the Ni and Al subsystems at high energies, a difference that strongly depends on the cluster composition and also changes with energy. These do not have an analog in pure Ni 13 and Al 13 and are explained in terms of the coupled effects of the difference between the masses of the Ni and Al atoms (the mass effect) and of the difference in the anharmonicity of the overall interaction potential as experienced by the Ni and Al subsystems of the clusters (the potential effect).

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

Adaptive local basis set for Kohn–Sham density functional theory in a discontinuous Galerkin framework II: Force, vibration, and molecular dynamics calculations

Recently, we have proposed the adaptive local basis set for electronic structure calculations based on Kohn–Sham density functional theory in a pseudopotential framework. The adaptive local basis set is efficient and systematically improvable for total energy calculations. In this paper, we present the calculation of atomic forces, which can be used for a range of applications such as geometry optimization and molecular dynamics simulation. We demonstrate that, under mild assumptions, the computation of atomic forces can scale nearly linearly with the number of atoms in the system using the adaptive local basis set. We quantify the accuracy of the Hellmann–Feynman forces for a range of physical systems, benchmarked against converged planewave calculations, and find that the adaptive local basis set is efficient for both force and energy calculations, requiring at most a few tens of basis functions per atom to attain accuracies required in practice. Since the adaptive local basis set has implicit dependence on atomic positions, Pulay forces are in general nonzero. However, we find that the Pulay force is numerically small and systematically decreasing with increasing basis completeness, so that the Hellmann–Feynman force is sufficient for basis sizes of a few tens of basis functions per atom. We verify the accuracy of the computed forces in static calculations of quasi-1D and 3D disordered Si systems, vibration calculation of a quasi-1D Si system, and molecular dynamics calculations of H{sub 2} and liquid Al–Si alloy systems, where we show systematic convergence to benchmark planewave results and results from the literature.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

Elucidation of Agonist and Antagonist Dynamic Binding Patterns in ER-α by Integration of Molecular Docking, Molecular Dynamics Simulations and Quantum Mechanical Calculations

Estrogen receptor alpha (ERα) is a ligand-dependent transcriptional factor in the nuclear receptor superfamily. Many structures of ERα bound with agonists and antagonists have been determined. However, the dynamic binding patterns of agonists and antagonists in the binding site of ERα remains unclear. Therefore, we performed molecular docking, molecular dynamics (MD) simulations, and quantum mechanical calculations to elucidate agonist and antagonist dynamic binding patterns in ERα. 17β-estradiol (E2) and 4-hydroxytamoxifen (OHT) were docked in the ligand binding pockets of the agonist and antagonist bound ERα. The best complex conformations from molecular docking were subjected to 100 nanosecond MD simulations. Hierarchical clustering was conducted to group the structures in the trajectory from MD simulations. The representative structure from each cluster was selected to calculate the binding interaction energy value for elucidation of the dynamic binding patterns of agonists and antagonists in the binding site of ERα. The binding interaction energy analysis revealed that OHT binds ERα more tightly in the antagonist conformer, while E2 prefers the agonist conformer. The results may help identify ERα antagonists as drug candidates and facilitate risk assessment of chemicals through ER-mediated responses.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗

Application of Dynamical System Scaling to Bubble Dynamics

Dynamical System Scaling (DSS) provides a useful method for analyzing, categorizing and scaling time-dependent processes. A key feature of DSS is the temporal displacement rate, D, which relates the natural process time to the reference clock time. Because of its property of being invariant under a two-parameter affine transformation, it provides an underlying basis for process scaling. Application of DSS to bubble dynamics serves to elucidate the physical significance of the temporal displacement rate and its role in scaling a variety of bubble dynamics processes. This paper shows that the temporal displacement rate consists of the sum of dimensionless groups that govern the bubble dynamics. Preserving the temporal displacement rate for a prototype and a scaled model results in similitude of the time-dependent normalized bubble size, growth rates and interfacial accelerations for different fluid conditions. For vapor bubble growth in a superheated liquid, it is shown that inertial controlled bubble growth occurs when D=0 and thermally controlled bubble growth occurs when D=1 .

dynamical system scaling, SMR, bubble dynamics, DS↗

Atomic-level heterogeneity and defect dynamics in concentrated solid-solution alloys

Performance enhancement of structural materials in extreme radiation environments has been activelyinvestigated for many decades. Traditional alloys, such as steel, brass and aluminum alloys, normallycontain one or two principal element(s) with a low concentration of other elements. While these existin either a mixture of metallic phases (multiple phases) or in a solid solution (single phase), limited orlocalized chemical disorder is a common characteristic of the main matrix. Fundamentally different fromtraditional alloys, recently developed single-phase concentrated solid-solutio n alloys (CSAs) contain mul-tiple elemental species in equiatomic or high concentrations with different elements randomly arrangedon a crystalline lattice. Due to the lack of ordered elemental arrangement in these CSAs, they exhibit sig-nificant chemical disorder and unique site-to-site lattice distortion. While it is well recognized intraditional alloys that minor additions lead to enhanced radiation resistance, it remains unclear inCSAs how atomic-level heterogeneity affects defect formation, damage accumulation, and microstruc-tural evolution. These knowledge gaps have acted as roadblocks to the development of future-generation energy technology. CSAs with a simple crystal structure, but complex chemical disorder,are unique systems that allow us, through replacing principal alloying elements and modifying concen-trations, to study how compositional complexity influences defect dynamics, and to bridge the knowl-edge gaps through understanding intricate electronic- and atomic-level interactions, mass and energytransfer processes, and radiation resistance performance. Recent advances in defect dynamics and irradi-ation performance of CSAs are reviewed, intrinsic chemical effects on radiation performance arediscussed, and direction for future studies is suggested.

Zhang, Yanwen↗

Implicit mesh discontinuous Galerkin methods and interfacial gauge methods for high-order accurate interface dynamics, with applications to surface tension dynamics, rigid body fluid–structure interaction, and free surface flow: Part I

In this two-part paper, a high-order accurate implicit mesh discontinuous Galerkin (dG) framework is developed for fluid interface dynamics, facilitating precise computation of interfacial fluid flow in evolving geometries. The framework uses implicitly defined meshes—wherein a reference quadtree or octree grid is combined with an implicit representation of evolving interfaces and moving domain boundaries—and allows physically prescribed interfacial jump conditions to be imposed or captured with high-order accuracy. Part one discusses the design of the framework, including: (i) high-order quadrature for implicitly defined elements and faces; (ii) high-order accurate discretisation of scalar and vector-valued elliptic partial differential equations with interfacial jumps in ellipticity coefficient, leading to optimal-order accuracy in the maximum norm and discrete linear systems that are symmetric positive (semi)definite; (iii) the design of incompressible fluid flow projection operators, which except for the influence of small penalty parameters, are discretely idempotent; and (iv) the design of geometric multigrid methods for elliptic interface problems on implicitly defined meshes and their use as preconditioners for the conjugate gradient method. Also discussed is a variety of aspects relating to moving interfaces, including: (v) dG discretisations of the level set method on implicitly defined meshes; (vi) transferring state between evolving implicit meshes; (vii) preserving mesh topology to accurately compute temporal derivatives; (viii) high-order accurate reinitialisation of level set functions; and (ix) the integration of adaptive mesh refinement. In part two, several applications of the implicit mesh dG framework in two and three dimensions are presented, including examples of single phase flow in nontrivial geometry, surface tension-driven two phase flow with phase-dependent fluid density and viscosity, rigid body fluid–structure interaction, and free surface flow. A class of techniques known as interfacial gauge methods is adopted to solve the corresponding incompressible Navier–Stokes equations, which, compared to archetypical projection methods, have a weaker coupling between fluid velocity, pressure, and interface position, and allow high-order accurate numerical methods to be developed more easily. Convergence analyses conducted throughout the work demonstrate high-order accuracy in the maximum norm for all of the applications considered; for example, fourth-order spatial accuracy in fluid velocity, pressure, and interface location is demonstrated for surface tension-driven two phase flow in 2D and 3D. Specific application examples include: vortex shedding in nontrivial geometry, capillary wave dynamics revealing fine-scale flow features, falling rigid bodies tumbling in unsteady flow, and free surface flow over a submersed obstacle, as well as high Reynolds number soap bubble oscillation dynamics and vortex shedding induced by a type of Plateau–Rayleigh instability in water ripple free surface flow. In conclusion, these last two examples compare numerical results with experimental data and serve as an additional means of validation; they also reveal physical phenomena not visible in the experiments, highlight how small-scale interfacial features develop and affect macroscopic dynamics, and demonstrate the wide range of spatial scales often at play in interfacial fluid flow.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗

Implicit mesh discontinuous Galerkin methods and interfacial gauge methods for high-order accurate interface dynamics, with applications to surface tension dynamics, rigid body fluid–structure interaction, and free surface flow: Part II

Here, in this two-part paper, a high-order accurate implicit mesh discontinuous Galerkin (dG) framework is developed for fluid interface dynamics, facilitating precise computation of interfacial fluid flow in evolving geometries. The framework uses implicitly defined meshes—wherein a reference quadtree or octree grid is combined with an implicit representation of evolving interfaces and moving domain boundaries—and allows physically prescribed interfacial jump conditions to be imposed or captured with high-order accuracy. Part one discusses the design of the framework, including: (i) high-order quadrature for implicitly defined elements and faces; (ii) high-order accurate discretisation of scalar and vector-valued elliptic partial differential equations with interfacial jumps in ellipticity coefficient, leading to optimal-order accuracy in the maximum norm and discrete linear systems that are symmetric positive (semi)definite; (iii) the design of incompressible fluid flow projection operators, which except for the influence of small penalty parameters, are discretely idempotent; and (iv) the design of geometric multigrid methods for elliptic interface problems on implicitly defined meshes and their use as preconditioners for the conjugate gradient method. Also discussed is a variety of aspects relating to moving interfaces, including: (v) dG discretisations of the level set method on implicitly defined meshes; (vi) transferring state between evolving implicit meshes; (vii) preserving mesh topology to accurately compute temporal derivatives; (viii) high-order accurate reinitialisation of level set functions; and (ix) the integration of adaptive mesh refinement. In part two, several applications of the implicit mesh dG framework in two and three dimensions are presented, including examples of single phase flow in nontrivial geometry, surface tension-driven two phase flow with phase-dependent fluid density and viscosity, rigid body fluid–structure interaction, and free surface flow. A class of techniques known as interfacial gauge methods is adopted to solve the corresponding incompressible Navier–Stokes equations, which, compared to archetypical projection methods, have a weaker coupling between fluid velocity, pressure, and interface position, and allow high-order accurate numerical methods to be developed more easily. Convergence analyses conducted throughout the work demonstrate high-order accuracy in the maximum norm for all of the applications considered; for example, fourth-order spatial accuracy in fluid velocity, pressure, and interface location is demonstrated for surface tension-driven two phase flow in 2D and 3D. Specific application examples include: vortex shedding in nontrivial geometry, capillary wave dynamics revealing fine-scale flow features, falling rigid bodies tumbling in unsteady flow, and free surface flow over a submersed obstacle, as well as high Reynolds number soap bubble oscillation dynamics and vortex shedding induced by a type of Plateau–Rayleigh instability in water ripple free surface flow. In these last two examples compare numerical results with experimental data and serve as an additional means of validation; they also reveal physical phenomena not visible in the experiments, highlight how small-scale interfacial features develop and affect macroscopic dynamics, and demonstrate the wide range of spatial scales often at play in interfacial fluid flow.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗

Dynamic Process Intensification of Binary Distillation via Periodic Operation

This paper applies the concept of dynamic intensification (defined as changes to the dynamics, operation strategy, and/or control of a process that lead to a substantially more efficient processing path) to binary distillation columns. The resulting strategy consists of manufacturing a target product as a blend of two auxiliary products, both having lower energy demands than a reference value, which corresponds to producing the target product(s) in a column operating at steady state. Here, a discussion of the appropriate control structures and switching strategies between the two auxiliary products is provided. An extensive case study concerning the separation of a methanol–1-propanol mixture was carried out, demonstrating that energy savings in the order of 1.4% are possible with no disruption in product quality or production rate.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

Self-Consistent Theory for Structural Relaxation, Dynamic Bond Exchange Times, and the Glass Transition in Polymeric Vitrimers

Here, we formulate a statistical mechanical theory for how dynamic bond exchange influences the activated hopping-driven relaxation of Kuhn segments in dynamically cross-linked networks or vitrimers over a wide range of temperatures and cross-link densities. The key new methodological aspect is to address in a self-consistent manner the dynamic consequences of bond exchange on the Kuhn segmental alpha relaxation, and vice versa. The predicted temperature dependence of the segmental alpha time of vitrimers at high temperatures remains the same as that of permanent networks, but at lower temperatures, a significant acceleration of relaxation occurs due to bond exchanges. From a mechanistic perspective, the vitrimer local cage barrier is very weakly affected by bond exchange, while the collective elastic barrier contribution decreases significantly in the deeply supercooled regime. The vitrimer glass transition temperature is predicted to grow linearly with the square root of the cross-link density, as previously found for permanent networks. Material-specific chemical effects such as cross-linker size relative to that of the normal Kuhn segment or special attraction of a cross-linker with polymers are crudely considered based on model calculations. The theory is quantitatively applied to recent experiments on dry ethylene vitrimers. Good agreements are found including that the bond exchange time follows an Arrhenius law at high enough temperatures but upward non-Arrhenius deviations emerge in the deeply supercooled regime, and a collapsed master curve of the segment alpha time exists over a wide range of cross-link densities and temperatures. Possible extensions to treat dynamic heterogeneity effects and penetrant transport in vitrimers are briefly discussed.

chemical calculations↗

MultiSector Dynamics: Advancing the Science of Complex Adaptive Human-Earth Systems

The field of MultiSector Dynamics (MSD) explores the dynamics and co-evolutionary pathways of human and Earth systems with a focus on critical goods, services, and amenities delivered to people through interdependent sectors. This commentary lays out core definitions and concepts, identifies MSD science questions in the context of the current state of knowledge, and describes ongoing activities to expand capacities for open science, leverage revolutions in data and computing, and grow and diversify the MSD workforce. Central to our vision is the ambition of advancing the next generation of complex adaptive human-Earth systems science to better address interconnected risks, increase resilience, and improve sustainability. This will require convergent research and the integration of ideas and methods from multiple disciplines. Understanding the tradeoffs, synergies, and complexities that exist in coupled human-Earth systems is particularly important in the context of energy transitions and increased future shocks.

Reed, Patrick↗

Biomolecular complex viewed by dynamic nuclear polarization solid-state NMR spectroscopy

Solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance (ssNMR) is an indispensable tool for elucidating the structure and dynamics of insoluble and non-crystalline biomolecules. The recent advances in the sensitivity-enhancing technique magic-angle spinning dynamic nuclear polarization (MAS-DNP) have substantially expanded the territory of ssNMR investigations and enabled the detection of polymer interfaces in a cellular environment. This article highlights the emerging MAS-DNP approaches and their applications to the analysis of biomolecular composites and intact cells to determine the folding pathway and ligand binding of proteins, the structural polymorphism of low-populated biopolymers, as well as the physical interactions between carbohydrates, proteins, and lignin. Furthermore, these structural features provide an atomic-level understanding of many cellular processes, promoting the development of better biomaterials and inhibitors. It is anticipated that the capabilities of MAS-DNP in biomolecular and biomaterial research will be further enlarged by the rapid development of instrumentation and methodology.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Insights into the structure and dynamics of K + ions at the muscovite–water interface from machine learning potential simulations

The surfaces of many minerals are covered by naturally occurring cations that become partially hydrated and can be replaced by hydronium or other cations when the surface is exposed to water or an aqueous solution. These ion exchange processes are relevant to various chemical and transport phenomena, yet elucidating their microscopic details is challenging for both experiments and simulations. Here, in this work, we make a first step in this direction by investigating the behavior of the native K + ions at the interface between neat water and the muscovite mica (001) surface with ab-initio -based machine learning molecular dynamics and enhanced sampling simulations. Our results show that the desorption of the surface K + ions in pure ion-free water has a significant free energy barrier irrespective of their local surface arrangement. In contrast, facile K + diffusion between mica’s ditrigonal cavities characterized by different Al/Si orderings is observed. This behavior suggests that the K + ions may favor a dynamic disordered surface arrangement rather than complete desorption when exposed to deionized water.

Ab-initio molecular dynamics↗

Dynamical Self-Assembly: Constrained phase separation and mesoscale dynamics in lipid membranes (Final Report)

This final technical report summarizes scientific and technical achievements derived through the the award, DE-FG02-04ER46173 [2013-2016, 2016-2017, and 2017-2018(NCE)], for the grant proposal titled, “Dynamical Self-Assembly: Constrained phase separation and mesoscale dynamics in lipid membranes.” The effort was organized into three major scientific aims: (1) characterize the mechanism of inter-layer coupling of laterally phase-separated domains in stacked lipid bilayers; (2) characterize curvature-dependent dynamic reorganization in membrane milieu; and (3) characterize real-time effects of mechanochemical perturbations on lateral phase separation membrane bilayers. The cumulative weight of the activities, including experimental research and collaborative modeling, disseminated through the publications listed above and presentations, has addressed two over-arching objectives: (a) to abstract a physical science based understanding of fundamental rules that determine dynamic self-assembly processes in lipid bilayer membranes - a versatile class of biologically inspired interfacial complex fluids and (b) to translate these physical principles into quantitative design rules for the development of new classes of membrane-based complex materials that exhibit complex, co-operative, and adaptive behavior.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

An Approach to Dynamic Human Reliability Analysis using EMRALD Dynamic Risk Assessment Tool

Research for dynamic human reliability analysis (HRA) (a.k.a., simulation-based or computation-based HRA) has been required, as many researchers have emphasized the importance of dynamic approaches to probabilistic safety assessment (PSA). This study proposes the PRocedure-based Investigation Method of EMRALD Risk Assessment – Human Reliability Analysis (PRIMERA-HRA) method, which is an approach to dynamic HRA using the Event Modeling Risk Assessment using Linked Diagram (EMRALD) software developed by Idaho National Laboratory (INL). In this study, how to model human actions using the software and evaluate the error probabilities is suggested. The applicability of this approach will be also investigated through an extended loss of AC power (ELAP) scenario. Then, major insights from this dynamic HRA approach against the static one will be discussed in the paper.

99 GENERAL AND MISCELLANEOUS↗

An Approach to Dynamic Human Reliability Analysis Using the EMRALD Dynamic Risk Assessment Tool

There is a need for research into dynamic human reliability analysis (HRA) (i.e., simulation- or computation-based HRA), as many researchers have emphasized the importance of applying dynamic approaches to probabilistic safety assessments (PSAs). This study proposes the Procedure-based Investigation Method of EMRALD Risk Assessment – Human Reliability Analysis (PRIMERA-HRA), a dynamic HRA approach based on the Event Modeling Risk Assessment Using Linked Diagram (EMRALD) software developed by Idaho National Laboratory (INL). This study suggests how this software can be used to model human actions and evaluate error probabilities. The applicability of this approach is also be investigated in light of an extended loss of AC power (ELAP) scenario. This paper then discusses the major insights derived by comparing this dynamic HRA approach against the static one.

99 GENERAL AND MISCELLANEOUS↗

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

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

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

PyCCE: A python package for custer correlation expansion simulations of spin qubit dynamics.

PyCCE, an open-source Python library for simulating the dynamics of spin qubits in a spin bath, is presented using the cluster-correlation expansion (CCE) method. PyCCE includes modules to generate realistic spin baths, employing coupling parameters computed from first principles with electronic structure codes, and enables the user to run simulations with either the conventional or generalized CCE method. Three use cases of the Python library are illustrated: the calculation of the Hahn-echo coherence time of the nitrogen-vacancy in diamond; the calculation of the coherence time of the basal divacancy in silicon carbide at avoided crossings; and the calculation for magnetic field orientation-dependent dynamics of a shallow donor in silicon. The complete documentation, downloadable tutorials, and installation instructions are available at https://pycce.readthedocs.io/en/latest/.

coherence↗