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At least 163 records · Page 9

A Review of Offshore Methane Quantification Methodologies

Since pre-industrial times, anthropogenic methane emissions have increased and are partly responsible for a changing global climate. Natural gas and oil extraction activities are one significant source of anthropogenic methane. While methods have been developed and refined to quantify onshore methane emissions, the ability of methods to directly quantify emissions from offshore production facilities remains largely unknown. Here, we review recent studies that have directly measured emissions from offshore production facilities and critically evaluate the suitability of these measurement strategies for emission quantification in a marine environment. The average methane emissions from production platforms measured using downwind dispersion methods were 32 kg h−1 from 188 platforms; 118 kg h−1 from 104 platforms using mass balance methods; 284 kg h−1 from 151 platforms using aircraft remote sensing; and 19,088 kg h−1 from 10 platforms using satellite remote sensing. Upon review of the methods, we suggest the unusually large emissions, or zero emissions observed could be caused by the effects of a decoupling of the marine boundary layer (MBL). Decoupling can happen when the MBL becomes too deep or when there is cloud cover and results in a stratified MBL with air layers of different depths moving at different speeds. Decoupling could cause: some aircraft remote sensing observations to be biased high (lower wind speed at the height of the plume); the mass balance measurements to be biased high (narrow plume being extrapolated too far vertically) or low (transects miss the plume); and the downwind dispersion measurements much lower than the other methods or zero (plume lofting in a decoupled section of the boundary layer). To date, there has been little research on the marine boundary layer, and guidance on when decoupling happens is not currently available. We suggest an offshore controlled release program could provide a better understanding of these results by explaining how and when stratification happens in the MBL and how this affects quantification methodologies.

Riddick, Stuart N. (ORCID:0000000316841843)↗

A simple method for obtaining heat capacity coefficients of minerals

Abstract Heat capacity data are unavailable or incomplete for many minerals at geologically relevant temperatures. Despite the availability of entropy and enthalpy values in numerous thermodynamic tables (even sometimes at elevated temperatures), there remains need for extrapolation beyond, or interpolation between, temperatures. This approach inevitably results in estimates for entropy and enthalpy values because the heat capacity coefficients required for optimal thermodynamic treatment are less frequently available. Here we propose a simple method for obtaining heat capacity coefficients of minerals. This method requires only the empirically measured temperature-specific heat capacity for calculation via a matrix algorithm. The system of equations solver is written in the Python computing language and has been made accessible in an online repository. Thermodynamically, the solution to a system of equations represents the heat capacity coefficients that satisfy the mineral-specific polynomial. Direct coefficient calculation will result in more robust thermodynamic data, which are not subject to fitting uncertainties. Using hematite as an example, this method provides results that are comparable to conventional means and is applicable to any solid material. Coefficients vary within the traditional large 950 K temperature interval, indicating that best results should instead utilize a smaller 400 K temperature interval. Examples of large-scale implications include the refinement of geothermal gradient estimation in rapidly subsiding sedimentary basins or metamorphic and hydrothermal evolution.

Geochemistry & Geophysics↗

Draft Rules for Alloy 617 Creep-Fatigue Design Using an EPP+SMT Approach

The report describes an improved new creep-fatigue design method for structural components in high temperature nuclear service. The new method uses an integrated elastic-perfectly plastic (EPP) analysis and Simplified Model Test (SMT) approach that greatly simplifies the design process by avoiding the separate evaluation of creep and fatigue damages and eliminating the requirement of stress classification. The report includes draft design rules, presented in a format compatible with an ASME nuclear Code Case, as well as a commentary on the rules and the validation of the rules using pressurized SMT (p-SMT) test data. Areas of potential improvement have been identified for further evaluation. The report also develops EPP+SMT design charts for Alloy 617 at temperatures between 800°C and 950°C by extrapolating high strain range, short hold test data to low strain range and long hold times, typical for structural components in high temperature nuclear service. The design charts are currently limited to 10,000 cycles to avoid excessive extrapolation outside the test database. More robust alternate extrapolation procedures will be considered in future work. The report includes several verification problems comparing the new EPP+SMT design method with current ASME creep-fatigue design methods. The comparison demonstrates that the EPP+SMT method significantly reduces the over-conservatism in current methods. Finally, the report includes a fully-documented sample problem with multiple load cases detailing the application of proposed EPP+SMT design rules.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Unifying and benchmarking state-of-the-art quantum error mitigation techniques

Error mitigation is an essential component of achieving a practical quantum advantage in the near term, and a number of different approaches have been proposed. In this work, we recognize that many state-of-the-art error mitigation methods share a common feature: they are data-driven, employing classical data obtained from runs of different quantum circuits. For example, Zero-noise extrapolation (ZNE) uses variable noise data and Clifford-data regression (CDR) uses data from near-Clifford circuits. We show that Virtual Distillation (VD) can be viewed in a similar manner by considering classical data produced from different numbers of state preparations. Observing this fact allows us to unify these three methods under a general data-driven error mitigation framework that we call UNIfied Technique for Error mitigation with Data (UNITED). In certain situations, we find that our UNITED method can outperform the individual methods (i.e., the whole is better than the individual parts). Specifically, we employ a realistic noise model obtained from a trapped ion quantum computer to benchmark UNITED, as well as other state-of-the-art methods, in mitigating observables produced from random quantum circuits and the Quantum Alternating Operator Ansatz (QAOA) applied to Max-Cut problems with various numbers of qubits, circuit depths and total numbers of shots. We find that the performance of different techniques depends strongly on shot budgets, with more powerful methods requiring more shots for optimal performance. For our largest considered shot budget (10 10 ), we find that UNITED gives the most accurate mitigation. Hence, our work represents a benchmarking of current error mitigation methods and provides a guide for the regimes when certain methods are most useful.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗

Bootstrap embedding for interacting electrons in phonon coherent-state mean field

Here, we develop a Fermi–Bose bootstrap embedding framework for the ground state of interacting electrons coupled to a phonon mean field. The method combines bootstrap embedding for correlated electrons with a self-consistent coherent-state mean-field treatment for phonons. This method models the interacting electron–phonon problem as a system of correlated electrons traveling in a self-consistently specified potential landscape, allowing for efficient treatment of large lattice systems. Convergence of the methods for fragment size and total system size is demonstrated for the one-dimensional Hubbard–Holstein model for up to 350 sites. Finite-size scaling is performed to extrapolate to the infinite system size. Benchmarking against the density matrix renormalization group for a small 8-site system at half- and quarter-filling shows an orders-of-magnitude runtime advantage. The comparison further reveals that the method performs best in regimes dominated by localization, such as the Mott insulating phase and the strong-coupling tiny polaron regime, where the local embedding ansatz is still valid. However, due to the mean-field treatment for phonons, we find limitations of our methods in the weakly coupled delocalized region and at the Peierls transition, where quantum phonon fluctuations and long-range kinetic correlations become substantial.

Islam, Shariful [North Carolina State University, ↗

Comparison of Spectroscopic Techniques for Determining the Peroxide Value of 19 Classes of Naturally Aged, Plant-Based Edible Oils

The peroxide value of edible oils is a measure of the degree of oxidation, which directly relates to the freshness of the oil sample. Several studies previously reported in the literature have paired various spectroscopic techniques with multivariate analyses to rapidly determine peroxide values using field portable and process instrumentation; those efforts presented “best-case scenarios” with oils from narrowly defined training and test sets. The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the use of near- and mid-infrared absorption and Raman scattering spectroscopies on oil samples from different oil classes, including seasonal and vendor variations, to determine which measurement technique or combination thereof is best for predicting peroxide values. Following peroxide value assays of each oil class using an established titration-based method, global and global-subset calibration models were constructed from spectroscopic data collected on the 19 oil classes used in this study. Spectra from each optical technique were used to create partial least squares regression calibration models to predict the peroxide value of unknown oil samples. A global peroxide value model based on near-infrared (8 mm optical path length) oil measurements produced the lowest RMSEP (4.9), followed by 24 mm optical path length near infrared (5.1), Raman (6.9) and 50 µm optical path length mid-infrared (7.3). However, it was determined that the Raman RMSEP resulted from chance correlations. Global peroxide value models based on low-level fusion of the NIR (8 and 24 mm optical path length) data and all infrared data produced the same RMSEP of 5.1. Global subset models, based on any of the spectroscopies and olive oil training sets from any class (pure, extra light, extra virgin), all failed to extrapolate to the non-olive oils. However, the near-infrared global subset model built on extra virgin olive oil could extrapolate to test samples from other olive oil classes. This work demonstrates the difficulty of developing a truly global method for determining peroxide value of oils.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Resolving Discrepancies in Spin-Torque Ferromagnetic Resonance Measurements: Lineshape versus Linewidth Analyses

When spin-orbit torques are measured using spin-torque ferromagnetic resonance, two alternative ways of analyzing the results to extract the torque efficiencies—lineshape analysis and analysis of the change in linewidth versus direct current—often give inconsistent results. We identify a source for these inconsistencies. We show that fits of spin-torque ferromagnetic resonance data to the standard analysis framework leave significant residuals that we identify as due to (i) current-induced excitations of a small volume of magnetic material with magnetic damping much larger than that of the bulk of the magnetic layer, which we speculate is associated with the heavy-metal–magnet interface and (ii) oscillations of the sample magnetization at the modulation frequency due to heating. Here, the dependence of the residual signals on direct current can interfere with an accurate extraction of spin-torque efficiencies by the linewidth method. We show that the discrepancies between the two types of analysis can be largely eliminated by extrapolation of the window of magnetic fields used in the linewidth fits to small values so as to minimize the influence of the residual signals.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

Heavy and wet: The consequences of violating assumptions of measuring soil microbial growth efficiency using the 18O water method

Soils store more carbon than the biosphere and atmosphere combined, and the efficiency to which soil microorganisms allocate carbon to growth rather than respiration is increasingly considered a proxy for the soil capacity to store carbon. This carbon use efficiency (CUE) is measured via different methods, and more recently, the 18O-H2O method has been embraced as a significant improvement for measuring CUE of soil microbial communities. Based on extrapolating 18O incorporation into DNA to new biomass, this measurement makes various implicit assumptions about the microbial community at hand. Here we conducted a literature review to evaluate how viable these assumptions are and then developed a mathematical model to test how violating them affects estimates of the growth component of CUE in soil. We applied this model to previously collected data from two kinds of soil microbial communities. By changing one parameter at a time, we confirmed our previous observation that CUE was reduced by fungal removal. Our results also show that depending on the microbial community composition, there can be substantial discrepancies between estimated and true microbial growth. Of the numerous implicit assumptions that might be violated, not accounting for the contribution of sources of oxygen other than extracellular water to DNA leads to a consistent underestimation of CUE. We present a framework that allows researchers to evaluate how their experimental conditions may influence their 18O-H2O-based CUE measurements and suggest the parameters that need further constraining to more accurately quantify growth and CUE.

Environmental Sciences & Ecology↗

Spectroscopic and theoretical studies of UN and UN +

The low-energy electronic states of UN and UN+ have been examined using high-level electronic structure calculations and two-color photoionization techniques. The experimental measurements provided an accurate ionization energy for UN (IE = 50 802 +/- 5 cm -1 ). Spectra for UN+ yielded ro-vibrational constants and established that the ground state has the electronic angular momentum projection omega = 4. Ab initio calculations were carried out using the spin-orbit state interacting approach with the complete active space second-order perturbation theory method. A series of correlation consistent basis sets were used in conjunction with small-core relativistic pseudopotentials on U to extrapolate to the complete basis set limits. The results for UN correctly obtained an omega = 3.5 ground state and demonstrated a high density of configurationally related excited states with closely similar ro-vibrational constants. Similar results were obtained for UN + , with reduced complexity owing to the smaller number of outer-shell electrons. The calculated IE for UN was in excellent agreement with the measured value. Improved values for the dissociation energies of UN and UN + , as well as their heats of formation, were obtained using the Feller-Peterson-Dixon composite thermochemistry method, including corrections up through coupled cluster singles, doubles, triples and quadruples. An analysis of the ab initio results from the perspective of the ligand field theory shows that the patterns of electronic states for both UN and UN + can be understood in terms of the underlying energy level structure of the atomic metal ion.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

The multichannel i -propyl + O2 reaction system: A model of secondary alkyl radical oxidation

The i-propyl + O2 reaction mechanism has been investigated by definitive quantum chemical methods to establish this system as a benchmark for the combustion of secondary alkyl radicals. Focal point analyses extrapolating to the ab initio limit were performed based on explicit computations with electron correlation treatments through coupled cluster single, double, triple, and quadruple excitations and basis sets up to cc-pV5Z. The rigorous coupled cluster single, double, and triple excitations/cc-pVTZ level of theory was used to fully optimize all reaction species and transition states, thus, removing some substantial flaws in reference geometries existing in the literature. The vital i-propylperoxy radical (MIN1) and its concerted elimination transition state (TS1) were found 34.8 and 4.4 kcal mol−1 below the reactants, respectively. Two β-hydrogen transfer transition states (TS2, TS2′) lie above the reactants by (1.4, 2.5) kcal mol−1 and display large Born–Oppenheimer diagonal corrections indicative of nearby surface crossings. An α-hydrogen transfer transition state (TS5) is discovered 5.7 kcal mol−1 above the reactants that bifurcates into equivalent α-peroxy radical hanging wells (MIN3) prior to a highly exothermic dissociation into acetone + OH. The reverse TS5 → MIN1 intrinsic reaction path also displays fascinating features, including another bifurcation and a conical intersection of potential energy surfaces. An exhaustive conformational search of two hydroperoxypropyl (QOOH) intermediates (MIN2 and MIN3) of the i-propyl + O2 system located nine rotamers within 0.9 kcal mol−1 of the corresponding lowest-energy minima.

Chemistry↗

Nuclear Astrophysics in the Storage Ring: Background Suppressed Simultaneous Measurement of (p,γ) and (p,n) Reactions

We report the application of the new elimination of Rutherford elastic scattering technique for the measurement of proton-induced reaction cross sections utilizing stored ions decelerated to astrophysical energies. This approach results in a background reduction factor of about 1 order of magnitude, enabling the first measurement of a (p, n) cross section in a storage ring. Here, the reaction channels 124 Xe⁢(p,n) and 124 Xe⁢(p,γ) have been studied just above the neutron threshold energy. The new data provide valuable constraints for Hauser-Feshbach theory and extrapolation of the (p,γ) cross section to lower energies. Most importantly, for nuclei of limited availability, the method represents a powerful improvement to efficiently study proton-induced reactions at energies within or close to the astrophysical Gamow window, bringing many reaction measurements within reach that were previously inaccessible in the laboratory.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗

Bond length alternation of π -conjugated polymers predicted by the Fermi–Löwdin orbital self-interaction correction method

π-conjugated polymers have been used in a wide range of practical applications, partly due to their unique properties that originate in the delocalization of electrons through the polymer backbone. The level of delocalization can be characterized by the induced bond length alternation (BLA), with shorter BLA connected with strong delocalization and vice versa. The accurate description of this structural parameter can be considered a benchmark for testing the capability of different electronic structure methods for self-interaction error (SIE) removal and electron correlation inclusion. Density functional theory (DFT), in its local or semi-local flavors, suffers from SIE and, thus, underestimates the BLA compared to self-interaction-free methods. In this work, we utilize the Fermi–Löwdin orbital self-interaction correction (FLOSIC) method for one-electron self-interaction removal to characterize the BLA of five oligomers with increasing length extrapolated to the polymeric limit. We compare the self-interaction-free BLA to several DFT approximations, Møller–Plesset second-order perturbation theory (MP2), and the BLA obtained with the domain based local pair natural orbital CCSD(T) [DLPNO-CCSD(T)] approximation. Our findings show that FLOSIC corrects for the small BLA given by (semi-)local DFT approximations, but it tends to overcorrect with respect to CAM-B3LYP, MP2, and DLPNO-CCSD(T).

Chemistry↗

Towards a combination of LHC and TeVatron W-boson mass measurements

In this note methodological and modelling considerations towards a combination of the ATLAS, CDF and D0 measurements of the W -boson mass are discussed. As they were performed at different moments in time, each measurement employed different assumptions for the modelling of W -boson production and decay, as well as different fits of the parton distribution functions of the proton (PDFs). Methods are presented to accurately evaluate the effect of PDFs and other modelling variations on existing measurements, allowing to extrapolate them to any PDF set and to evaluate the corresponding uncertainties. Based on this approach, the measurements can be corrected to a common modelling reference and to the same PDFs, and subsequently combined accounting for PDF correlations in a quantitative way.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

Energy-resolved mass spectrometry as a tool for identification of lignin depolymerization products

Lignin is the largest source of bio-based aromatic compounds in nature, and its valorization is essential to the sustainability of lignocellulosic biorefining. Characterizing lignin-derived compounds remains challenging due to the heterogeneity of this biopolymer. Tandem mass spectrometry is a promising tool for lignin structural analytics, as fragmentation patterns of model compounds can be extrapolated to identify characteristic moieties in complex samples. This work extends previous resonance excitation type collision-induced dissociation (CID) methods that identified lignin oligomers containing β-Ο-4, β-5, and β-β bonds, to also identify characteristics of 5-5, β-1, and 4-Ο-5 dimers, enabled by quadrupole time-of-flight (QTOF) CID with energy-resolved mass spectrometry (ERMS). Overall, beam type ERMS offers in-depth structural information and could ultimately contribute to tools for high-throughput lignin dimer identification.

09 BIOMASS FUELS↗

Transfer learning of memory kernels for transferable coarse-graining of polymer dynamics

The present work concerns the transferability of coarse-grained (CG) modeling in reproducing the dynamic properties of the reference atomistic systems across a range of parameters. In particular, we focus on implicit-solvent CG modeling of polymer solutions. The CG model is based on the generalized Langevin equation, where the memory kernel plays the critical role in determining the dynamics in all time scales. Thus, we propose methods for transfer learning of memory kernels. The key ingredient of our methods is Gaussian process regression. By integration with the model order reduction via proper orthogonal decomposition and the active learning technique, the transfer learning can be practically efficient and requires minimum training data. Through two example polymer solution systems, we demonstrate the accuracy and efficiency of the proposed transfer learning methods in the construction of transferable memory kernels. The transferability allows for out-of-sample predictions, even in the extrapolated domain of parameters. Built on the transferable memory kernels, the CG models can reproduce the dynamic properties of polymers in all time scales at different thermodynamic conditions (such as temperature and solvent viscosity) and for different systems with varying concentrations and lengths of polymers.

Ma, Zhan↗

Nuclear Safeguards: Feature Extraction for Machine Learning Enrichment Analysis of UF 6 Cylinders

With the increasing international interest in using nuclear material as sources of energy, comes the growing concern that we may see an increase in proliferation threats. Uranium hexafluoride (UF 6 ) is used in the nuclear fuel cycle for uranium enrichment. Inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) monitor the enrichment levels of UF 6 stored in transportation cylinders, to ensure the enrichments match that of a facility operator’s declarations. However, only a characteristic subset of UF 6 cylinders can be measured by inspectors from the IAEA during these inspections. In turn, the inspector may not identify a cylinder whose enrichment levels do not match the facility declarations. Therefore, our team attempts to develop a machine learning network that could determine the enrichment percentage of cylinders as they enter and exit facilities. The machine learning model must be robust against spectral variations due to factors that are internal and external to the UF 6 cylinder. Such factors include but are not limited to the speed and distance of the moving vehicle, cylinder type, cylinder orientation, and fill level. Many features in the spectral continuum can be used to identify and correct for some of these variations. As a consequence, the model must extract numerous features in the continuum. We investigate new approaches in continuum subtraction to verify enrichment percentage: interpolation and extrapolation of lines at the notable characteristic spectral peaks. It was determined that there was no clear answer on which method proved superior, therefore the decision was made to implement both new methods into the current codebase. We currently rely on synthetic training and testing data to analyze the results and fine tune our models but hope to test the system on measured data soon.

98 NUCLEAR DISARMAMENT, SAFEGUARDS, AND PHYSICAL P↗

Application of the Cohn-alpha Method on Bare Highly Enriched Uranium Using Organic Scintillators [Poster]

The prompt neutron decay constant (α), can be used to calculate the lifetime of prompt fission chains within a multiplying system and verify reactor startup and shutdown. We analyze a fast, bare system consisting of highly enriched uranium (93% 235 U) hemisphere shells known as the Measurements of Uranium Subcritical and Critical (MUSiC). We measured the system with a three by-four array of organic scintillators (OSCAR) to obtain the gamma-ray and fast neutron signals. Pulse shape discrimination was used to isolate the neutron time series data. The Cohn-α method was used to estimate α for 3 supercritical measurements of Configurations 8 MUSiC. We use these estimates to linearly extrapolate α at delayed critical. These values can be compared to highly detailed simulations in MCNP6.2.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗

An Autonomous Critical Data Extrapolator for the AGN-201m

Nuclear nonproliferation serves as a key goal, being undertaken by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). To recognize proliferation there are two pathways that states, who intend to use nuclear material for malicious purposes can take, diversion can misuse. Diversion is when fissile nuclear material is declared to the IAEA for non-weapon purposes, but then covertly removed. If the source of nuclear material, that is not declared and not fissionable, is placed inside the reactor core to create fissile material used to create weapons then the state is using the second pathway of proliferation, misuse. With the emerging development in areas of simulation and machine learning the creation of virtual models of reactor systems, digital twins, serve as a potential method to identify proliferation through detecting anomalous behavior in the reactor. A digital twin for a physical nuclear reactor has never been developed, as digital twins serve as an emerging technology. To investigate the process for development and use of a digital twin for a nuclear reactor Idaho State University’s AGN-201m serves as the nuclear reactor used for development of this digital twin. A data acquisition system has been installed to the reactor system allowing for the transfer of collected data from a reactor operation to Idaho National Laboratory’s Deeplynx data warehouse. When utilizing data to train reactor physics and machine learning models, a significant challenge encountered is the initial state of the data. Nuclear proliferation will have the capacity to be detected when the reactor immediately starts up, nor will it occur after the reactor shuts down. Generally, it will be detected when the reactor is operating at some desired power over a sufficient period for that specific reactor design. For the AGN-201m this will be when the reactor is critical (generally 1 mW or above) for a timespan that is within or less than the range of a regular business day. Datasets sent to Deeplynx have had to be manually cut to when the reactor is critical based on plots of power levels. This method is inefficient and laborious, especially when using multiple datasets at once to train a model. To provide a more streamlined approach an automated critical data extrapolator is developed, with capabilities of recognizing when the reactor operation first reaches criticality, and when the reactor undergoes a SCRAM and is shutdown.

99 GENERAL AND MISCELLANEOUS↗