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At least 163 records · Page 9

A Model Based Approach to Extract Health Information from Textual Data

In current nuclear power plants (NPPs) a large amount of condition-based data is being generated and stored to assess and monitor component health and performance. The format of this data can be either numeric (e.g., pump vibration data) or textual (e.g., condition report which assess component health). While assessing component health from numeric data can be performed with a large variety of methods, the extraction of information from textual data still remains a challenge. Natural language processing (NLP) methods are starting to be deployed in current NPPs mainly to filter out incident reports (IRs) that are not safety related by employing supervised machine learning methods. However, these methods do not really provide the quantitative information that might be contained in IRs. This paper presents an approach to extract information from textual data (e.g., from IRs, maintenance reports) that is based on NLP data analytics methods coupled with model-based system engineer (MBSE) models. NLP methods are employed to perform syntactic and semantic analyses. Syntactic analysis analyzes the grammatical structure of a sentence; such analysis includes: part of speech (POS) tagging (i.e., identification of grammatic elements of each string - e.g., nouns, verbs), named entity recognition (i.e., identification of text entities - e.g., names, dates, events), and relation extraction (e.g., coreference resolution). On the other hand, semantic analysis is designed to analyze the logic structure of a sentence. Through a specific set of rules, our methods can identify whether a sentence contains health information of a component (e.g., degraded performance, anomaly behavior) or the causal relationship between two events (i.e., a cause-effect pair). An innovative element of our approach is that semantic analysis relies on MBSE models to identify links between textual elements. MBSE are diagrams designed to represent system and component dependencies (from both a form and functional point of view). In our approach, MBSE models emulate system engineer knowledge about component/system architecture. This paper presents in detail how the integration of NLP methods and MBSE models is performed. Few analysis examples focusing on centrifugal pumps are presented.

97 - MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗

Towards string order melting of spin-1 particle chains in superconducting transmons using optimal control

Utilizing optimal control to simulate a model Hamiltonian is an emerging strategy that leverages the intrinsic physics of a device with digital quantum simulation methods. Here we evaluate optimal control for probing the nonequilibrium properties of symmetry-protected topological (SPT) states simulated with superconducting hardware. Assuming a tunable transmon architecture, we cast the evolution of these SPT states as a series of one- and two-site pulse optimization problems that are solved in the presence of leakage constraints. From the generated pulses, we classically simulate the time-dependent melting of the perturbed SPT string order across a six-site model with an average state infidelity of 10 -3 . The feasibility of these pulses as well as their efficient application indicate that high-fidelity simulations of string order melting are within reach of current quantum computing systems.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

BPS fivebrane stars. Part II. Fluctuations

We investigate quantum fluctuations of metric components in coherent 1/2-BPS bound states of n1 fundamental strings and n 5 NS5-branes. The leading order contribution in an expansion in 1/(n 1 n 5 ) is calculated via a combination of analytical and numerical methods. We find that the fluctuations are small away from a tiny distance from the source, comparable to the 6d Planck scale. Comparing this result with an analysis in the literature of fluctuations in the maximally mixed state, we conclude that the large fluctuations previously found for the latter are statistical rather than quantum in nature, and that perturbative string theory provides an accurate description of these backgrounds.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

Correlations and clustering in wholesale electricity markets

We study the structure of locational marginal prices in day-ahead and real-time wholesale electricity markets. In particular, we consider the case of two North American markets and show that the price correlations contain information on the locational structure of the grid. We study various clustering methods and introduce a type of correlation function based on event synchronization for spiky time series, and another based on string correlations of location names provided by the markets. As a result, this allows us to reconstruct aspects of the locational structure of the grid.

29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY↗

A primer on resurgent transseries and their asymptotics

The computation of observables in general interacting theories, be them quantum mechanical, field, gauge or string theories, is a non-trivial problem which in many cases can only be addressed by resorting to perturbative methods. In most physically interesting problems these perturbative expansions result in asymptotic series with zero radius of convergence. These asymptotic series then require the use of resurgence and transseries in order for the associated observables to become nonperturbatively well-defined. Resurgence encodes the complete large-order asymptotic behaviour of the coefficients from a perturbative expansion, generically in terms of (multi) instanton sectors and for each problem in terms of its Stokes constants. Some observables arise from linear problems, and have a finite number of instanton sectors and associated Stokes constants; some other observables arise from nonlinear problems, and have an infinite number of instanton sectors and Stokes constants. By means of two very explicit examples, and with emphasis on a pedagogical style of presentation, here this work aims at serving as a primer on the aforementioned resurgent, large-order asymptotics of general perturbative expansions. This includes discussions of transseries, Stokes phenomena, generalized steepest-descent methods, Borel transforms, nonlinear resonance, and alien calculus. Furthermore, resurgent properties of transseries – usually described mathematically via alien calculus – are recast in equivalent physical languages: either a “statistical mechanical” language, as motions in chains and lattices; or a “conformal field theoretical” language, with underlying Virasoro-like algebraic structures.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗

A General Framework for Bounding Approximate Dynamic Programming Schemes

For years, there has been interest in approximation methods for solving dynamic programming problems, because of the inherent complexity in computing optimal solutions characterized by Bellman’s principle of optimality. A wide range of approximate dynamic programming (ADP) methods now exists. It is of great interest to guarantee that the performance of an ADP scheme be at least some known fraction, say ß , of optimal. This letter introduces a general approach to bounding the performance of ADP methods, in this sense, in the stochastic setting. The approach is based on new results for bounding greedy solutions in string optimization problems, where one has to choose a string (ordered set) of actions to maximize an objective function. This bounding technique is inspired by submodularity theory, but submodularity is not required for establishing bounds. Instead, the bounding is based on quantifying certain notions of curvature of string functions; the smaller the curvatures the better the bound. The key insight is that any ADP scheme is a greedy scheme for some surrogate string objective function that coincides in its optimal solution and value with those of the original optimal control problem. The ADP scheme then yields to the bounding technique mentioned above, and the curvatures of the surrogate objective determine the value ß of the bound. The surrogate objective and its curvatures depend on the specific ADP.

discrete event systems↗

Supersymmetric Wilson loops on the lattice in the large N limit

We propose additional tests of holography by studying supersymmetric Wilson loops in p+1-dimensional maximally supersymmetric Yang?Mills (SYM) theories on the lattice in the large N limit. In the dual gravity description, this computation involves calculating the area of a fundamental string worldsheet in certain Type II supergravity backgrounds. Though thermodynamic observables have been computed on the lattice using Monte Carlo methods and agree with the supergravity results in various dimensions, not much has been done for the gauge-invariant operators such as the Wilson loop. We provide analytical predictions for these loops for various non-conformal Dp-brane background cases with ? ? 2 p?2 in the large N limit and comment on how these can be computed on non-orthogonal lattices in various models.

Jha, Raghav G. (ORCID:0000000329330102)↗

Development of Fixtures and Methods to Assess the Durability of Balance of Systems Components

The degradation of photovoltaic (PV) balance of systems (BoS) components is not well studied, but the consequences include offline modules, strings, and inverters; system shutdown; arc faults; and fires. A utility provider experienced a ~30% failure rate in their power transfer chain, originally attributed to branch connectors. Field-failed specimen assemblies were, therefore, examined, consisting of cable connector, branch connector, and discrete fuse components. In this study, unused field-vintage specimens are examined using a benchtop prototype fixture to identify the most influential environmental stressors on BoS components as well as the effect of external mechanical perturbation. The prototype fixture was used to develop a perturbation capability for future use in the combined-accelerated stress testing chamber. The benchtop experiments were also used to develop the in-situ data acquisition of specimen current, voltage, and temperature. A significant increase in operating temperature (~100 °C from ~40 °C) and a different failure mode (arcing at the metal pins rather than overheating of the fuse filament) were observed promptly once periodic mechanical perturbation was applied. The current at failure was decreased from 35 A (measured for static specimens, with failure occurring in the fuses) to 15 A (for tests with mechanical perturbation, with failure at the male/female metal pin connection). After initial examination using X-ray computed tomography, the external plastic was machined away from failed specimens to allow for failure analysis, including the extraction of the internal convolute springs for morphological examination (optical and electron microscopy). Chemical composition analysis included energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, differential scanning calorimetry, and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗

Effect of positive pulse charge waveforms on cycle life of nickel-zinc cells

Five amp-hour nickel-zinc cells were life cycled to evaluate four different charge methods. Three of the four waveforms investigated were 120 Hz full wave rectified sinusoidal (FWRS), 120 Hz silicon controlled rectified (SCR), and 1 kHz square wave (SW). The fourth, a constant current method, was used as a baseline of comparison. Three sealed Ni-Zn cells connected in series were cycled. Each series string was charged at an average c/20 rate, and discharged at a c/2.5 rate to a 75% rated depth.

Smithrick, J. J.↗

Effect of positive pulse charge waveforms on cycle life of nickel-zinc cells

Five amp-hour nickel-zinc cells were life cycled to evaluate four different charge methods. Three of the four waveforms investigated were 120 Hz full wave rectified sinusoidal (FWRS), 120 Hz silicon controlled rectified (SCR), and 1 kHz square wave (SW). The fourth, a constant current method, was used as a baseline of comparison. Three sealed Ni-Zn cells connected in series were cycled. Each series string was charged at an average c/20 rate, and discharged at a c/2.5 rate to a 75% rated depth. Results indicate that the relatively inexpensive 120 Hz FWRS charger appears feasible for charging 5 amp-hour nickel-zinc cells with no significant loss in average cycle life when compared to constant current charging. The 1-kHz SW charger could also be used with no significant loss in average cycle life, and suggests the possibility of utilizing the existing electric vehicle chopper controller circuitry for an on-board charger. There was an apparent difference using the 120 Hz SCR charger compared to the others, however, this difference could be due to an inadvertent severe overcharge, which occurred prior to cell failure. The remaining two positive pulse charging waveforms, FWRS and 1 kHz, did not improve the cycle life of 5 amp-hour nickel-zinc cells over that of constant current charging.

Smithrick, J. J.↗

Sample Handling in Extreme Environments

Harsh environments, such as that on Venus, preclude the use of existing equipment for functions that involve interaction with the environment. The operating limitations of current high temperature electronics are well below the actual temperature and pressure found on Venus (460 deg C and 92 atm), so proposed lander configurations typically include a pressure vessel where the science instruments are kept at Earth-like temperature and pressure (25 deg C and 1 atm). The purpose of this project was to develop and demonstrate a method for sample transfer from an external drill to internal science instruments for a lander on Venus. The initial concepts were string and pneumatically driven systems; and the latter system was selected for its ability to deliver samples at very high speed. The pneumatic system was conceived to be driven by the pressure difference between the Venusian atmosphere and the inside of the lander. The pneumatic transfer of a small capsule was demonstrated, and velocity data was collected from the lab experiment. The sample transfer system was modeled using CAD software and prototyped using 3D printing. General structural and thermal analyses were performed to approximate the proposed system's mass and effects on the temperature and pressure inside of the lander. Additionally, a sampler breadboard for use on Titan was tested and functionality problems were resolved.

sample handling↗

Improved Compression of Wavelet-Transformed Images

A recently developed data-compression method is an adaptive technique for coding quantized wavelet-transformed data, nominally as part of a complete image-data compressor. Unlike some other approaches, this method admits a simple implementation and does not rely on the use of large code tables. A common data compression approach, particularly for images, is to perform a wavelet transform on the input data, and then losslessly compress a quantized version of the wavelet-transformed data. Under this compression approach, it is common for the quantized data to include long sequences, or runs, of zeros. The new coding method uses prefixfree codes for the nonnegative integers as part of an adaptive algorithm for compressing the quantized wavelet-transformed data by run-length coding. In the form of run-length coding used here, the data sequence to be encoded is parsed into strings consisting of some number (possibly 0) of zeros, followed by a nonzero value. The nonzero value and the length of the run of zeros are encoded. For a data stream that contains a sufficiently high frequency of zeros, this method is known to be more effective than using a single variable length code to encode each symbol. The specific prefix-free codes used are from two classes of variable-length codes: a class known as Golomb codes, and a class known as exponential-Golomb codes. The codes within each class are indexed by a single integer parameter. The present method uses exponential-Golomb codes for the lengths of the runs of zeros, and Golomb codes for the nonzero values. The code parameters within each code class are determined adaptively on the fly as compression proceeds, on the basis of statistics from previously encoded values. In particular, a simple adaptive method has been devised to select the parameter identifying the particular exponential-Golomb code to use. The method tracks the average number of bits used to encode recent runlengths, and takes the difference between this average length and the code parameter. When this difference falls outside a fixed range, the code parameter is updated (increased or decreased). The Golomb code parameter is selected based on the average magnitude of recently encoded nonzero samples. The coding method requires no floating- point operations, and more readily adapts to local statistics than other methods. The method can also accommodate arbitrarily large input values and arbitrarily long runs of zeros. In practice, this means that changes in the dynamic range or size of the input data set would not require a change to the compressor. The algorithm has been tested in computational experiments on test images. A comparison with a previously developed algorithm that uses large code tables (generated via Huffman coding on training data) suggests that the data-compression effectiveness of the present algorithm is comparable to the best performance achievable by the previously developed algorithm.

Kiely, Aaron↗

Scaling from gauge and scalar radiation in Abelian-Higgs string networks

In this work, we investigate cosmic string networks in the Abelian Higgs model using data from a campaign of large-scale numerical simulations on lattices of up to 409 6 3 grid points. We observe scaling or self-similarity of the networks over a wide range of scales and estimate the asymptotic values of the mean string separation in horizon length units ξ ˙ and of the mean square string velocity v ¯ 2 in the continuum and large time limits. The scaling occurs because the strings lose energy into classical radiation of the scalar and gauge fields of the Abelian Higgs model. We quantify the energy loss with a dimensionless radiative efficiency parameter and show that it does not vary significantly with lattice spacing or string separation. This implies that the radiative energy loss underlying the scaling behavior is not a lattice artifact, and justifies the extrapolation of measured network properties to large times for computations of cosmological perturbations. We also show that the core growth method, which increases the defect core width with time to extend the dynamic range of simulations, does not introduce significant systematic error. We compare ξ ˙ and v ¯ 2 to values measured in simulations using the Nambu-Goto approximation, finding that the latter underestimate the mean string separation by about 25%, and overestimate v ¯ 2 by about 10%. The scaling of the string separation implies that string loops decay by the emission of massive radiation within a Hubble time in field theory simulations, in contrast to the Nambu-Goto scenario which neglects this energy loss mechanism. String loops surviving for only one Hubble time emit much less gravitational radiation than in the Nambu-Goto scenario and are consequently subject to much weaker gravitational wave constraints on their tension.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

Method and apparatus of fabricating a solar cell device

Solar cell devices as well as method and apparatus for producing solar cell devices are disclosed. Aspects of the disclosure provide a solar cell device that includes a string of solar cells. The string of solar cells are conductively connected in series and arranged in a shingled manner with sides of adjacent solar cells being overlapped. A first metal ribbon segment is conductively bonded to a front surface of an end cell, the front surface being configured to face a light incoming direction to receive energy from a light source.

Caswell, Nathaniel Alexis↗

Method and apparatus of fabricating a solar cell device

Solar cell devices as well as method and apparatus for producing solar cell devices are disclosed. Aspects of the disclosure provide a solar cell device that includes a string of solar cells. The string of solar cells are conductively connected in series and arranged in a shingled manner with sides of adjacent solar cells being overlapped. A first metal ribbon segment is conductively bonded to a front surface of an end cell, the front surface being configured to face a light incoming direction to receive energy from a light source.

Caswell, Nathaniel↗

Semiclassical gravitational effects on the gravitational lensing in the spacetime of topological defects

The theory of gravitational lensing has revealed many generic and fundamental properties of compact objects like black holes and wormholes. In this article, we utilize a recent formulation to compute the quantum effects on the deflection angle of a light ray, namely, the Gauss–Bonnet theorem (GBT) to explore the semiclassical gravitational effects in the spacetime of a point-like global monopole and a cosmic string. Previously, the Gauss–Bonnet theorem (Gibbons and Werner, 2008) was proposed as an alternative way to compute the deflection angle of light in a static, spherically symmetric and asymptotically flat spacetime. In the present article we have used the celebrated GBT that applied to the optical metric as well as the geodesic method in computing the deflection angle. Interestingly one can observe that we have found an exact result between GBT and the standard approach up to the third-order contributions terms by modifying the domain of integration for cosmic string and global monopole deflection angles. Finally we have considered the time delay in the cosmic string/global monopole spacetime and found that the delay in time is proportional to the linear mass density of the cosmic string and global monopole parameter, respectively.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

Veneziano variations: how unique are string amplitudes?

String theory offers an elegant and concrete realization of how to consistently couple states of arbitrarily high spin. But how unique is this construction? In this paper we derive a novel, multi-parameter family of four-point scattering amplitudes exhibiting i) polynomially bounded high-energy behavior and ii) exchange of an infinite tower of high-spin modes, albeit with a finite number of states at each resonance. These amplitudes take an infinite-product form and, depending on parameters, exhibit mass spectra that are either unbounded or bounded, thus corresponding to generalizations of the Veneziano and Coon amplitudes, respectively. For the bounded case, masses converge to an accumulation point, a peculiar feature seen in the Coon amplitude but more recently understood to arise naturally in string theory [1]. Importantly, our amplitudes contain free parameters allowing for the customization of the slope and offset of the spin-dependence in the Regge trajectory. We compute all partial waves for this multi-parameter class of amplitudes and identify unitary regions of parameter space. For the unbounded case, we apply similar methods to derive new deformations of the Veneziano and Virasoro-Shapiro amplitudes.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗