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At least 1,711 records · Page 95

Process and information integration via hypermedia

Success stories for advanced automation prototypes abound in the literature but the deployments of practical large systems are few in number. There are several factors that militate against the maturation of such prototypes into products. Here, the integration of advanced automation software into large systems is discussed. Advanced automation systems tend to be specific applications that need to be integrated and aggregated into larger systems. Systems integration can be achieved by providing expert user-developers with verified tools to efficiently create small systems that interface to large systems through standard interfaces. The use of hypermedia as such a tool in the context of the ground control centers that support Shuttle and space station operations is explored. Hypermedia can be an integrating platform for data, conventional software, and advanced automation software, enabling data integration through the display of diverse types of information and through the creation of associative links between chunks of information. Further, hypermedia enables process integration through graphical invoking of system functions. Through analysis and examples, researchers illustrate how diverse information and processing paradigms can be integrated into a single software platform.

Hammen, David G.↗

Transportable Applications Environment Plus

Transportable Applications Environment Plus (TAE+) is integrated, portable program providing environment for developing and running interactive window, text, and graphical object-based application software systems. Enables construction of custom application interface and moving applications to different computers. Components are WorkBench, tool for design of user interface; WPT's (Window Programming Tools) package, set of callable subroutines controlling user interface; and TAE Command Language (TCL), providing ways to develop executable application prototype with run-time-interpreted language. Uses MIT X-Window System, WorkBench and WPT's written in C++, remaining code in C.

Source record↗

Sediment Starvation Destroys New York City Marshes' Resistance to Sea Level Rise

New York City (NYC) is representative of many vulnerable coastal urban populations, infrastructures, and economies threatened by global sea level rise. The steady loss of marshes in NYC's Jamaica Bay is typical of many urban estuaries worldwide. Essential to the restoration and preservation of these key wetlands is an understanding of their sedimentation. Here we present a reconstruction of the history of mineral and organic sediment fluxes in Jamaica Bay marshes over three centuries, using a combination of density measurements and a detailed accretion model. Accretion rate is calculated using historical land use and pollution markers, through a wide variety of sediment core analyses including geochemical, isotopic, and paleobotanical analyses. We find that, since 1800 CE, urban development dramatically reduced the input of marsh stabilizing mineral sediment. However, as mineral flux decreased, organic matter flux increased. While this organic accumulation increase allowed vertical accumulation to outpace sea level, reduced mineral content causes structural weakness and edge failure. Marsh integrity now requires mineral sediment addition to both marshes and subsurface channels and borrow pits, a solution applicable to drowning estuaries worldwide. Integration of marsh mineral/organic accretion history with modeling provides parameters for marsh preservation at specific locales with sea level rise.

organic flux↗

Pterodactyl: An Uncoupled Range Control Approach to Fully Numerical Predictor-Corrector Entry Guidance

Entry, descent, and landing (EDL) has been identified as a core area of investment in NASA's Strategic Technology Investment Plan (NASA STIP). STIP lists the space technologies needed to help achieve NASA's science, technology, and exploration goals across the agency. Within the EDL core area, deployable hypersonic decelerators, also known as deployable entry vehicles (DEVs), have been identified as an area of investment, due to its potential to revolutionize payload delivery methods to Earth and other planets. These vehicles, which can deploy their heat shields or alter their shape before entry, exploit an increased and more effective drag ratio by using less mass than traditional blunt body vehicles with rigid aeroshells. DEVs like Adaptive Deployable Entry and Placement Technology (ADEPT) and Hypersonic Inflatable Aerodynamic Decelerator (HIAD) have demonstrated the capability of transporting the equivalent science payloads of blunt body rigid aeroshells, while using a significantly smaller diameter when stowed within a launch vehicle. While DEVs' increased energy dissipation for less mass is an attractive feature, their ability to contract and expand would require advancements in the current state-of-the-art guidance and control (G&C) architectures used by traditional rigid vehicles. Pterodactyl, a project funded by NASA's Space Technology Mission Directorate (STMD), aims to provide feasible integrated G&C solutions for DEVs, complete with optimized vehicle designs and packaging analyses. Structural and aerodynamic analyses for the explored control systems suggested a need for a bank angle guidance algorithm, a heritage guidance approach that has been used in many entry precision targeting vehicles, as well as an additional need for the development of a non-bank angle guidance. For this reason, Pterodactyl will consider four different G&C configurations during its design phase: i) a reaction control system for bank (sigma) control, ii) a mass movement system for angle of attack (alpha) sideslip (beta) control, iii) flaps for alpha - beta control, and iv) flaps for sigma control. To increase the applicability of each proposed integrated G&C architecture, an 11 km/s lunar return demonstration mission is selected to stress the developed technology capability. The Lifting Nano-ADEPT (LNA) vehicle is chosen as the DEV to demonstrate the integrated solutions. This paper will detail the trajectory design for a lunar return mission, using the validated bank control guidance algorithm Fully Numerical Predictor-Corrector Entry Guidance (FNPEG) and a newly developed guidance algorithm: FNPEG Uncoupled Range Control (URC). FNPEG-URC diverges from traditional bank angle guidances by producing alpha and beta commands to thereby decouple downrange and crossrange control. This presentation will discuss the development and overall performance of FNPEG and FNPEG-URC for each of the four G&C configurations. Successful G&C configurations are defined as those that can deliver payloads to the intended descent and landing site while abiding by trajectory constraints in the face of dispersions.

Johnson, Breanna↗

Conformal High-Power-Density Half-Heusler Thermoelectric Modules: A Pathway toward Practical Power Generators

Thermoelectric generators (TEGs) exploiting the Seebeck effect provide a promising solution for waste heat recovery. Among the large number of thermoelectric (TE) materials, half-Heusler (hH) alloys are leading candidates for medium- to high-temperature power generation applications. However, the fundamental challenge in this field has been inhomogeneous material properties at large wafer diameters, insufficient power output from the modules, and rigid form factors of TE modules. This has restricted the transition of TEGs in practical applications for over three decades. Here, we successfully demonstrate large diameter wafers with uniform TE properties, high-power conformal hH TE modules for high-temperature application, and their direct integration on flue gas platforms, such as cylindrical tubes, to form large area flexible TEGs. This new conformal architecture design provides a breakthrough toward medium-/high-temperature TEGs over the conventional BiTe- and polymer-based flexible TEG design. In this work, a variable fill factor and greater flexibility due to the conformal design result in higher device performance as compared to conventional rigid TEG devices. Modules with 72-couple hH legs exhibit a device high-power-density of 3.13 W cm-2 and a total output power of 56.6 W under a temperature difference of 570 degrees C. These results provide a promising pathway toward widespread utilization of thermoelectric technology into the waste heat recovery application and will have a significant impact on the development of practical thermal to electrical converters.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗

Sensitivity of Depth-Integrated Satellite Lidar to Subaqueous Scattering

A method is presented for estimating subaqueous integrated backscatter from the CALIOP lidar. The algorithm takes into account specular reflection of laser light, laser scattering by wind-generated foam as well as sun glint and solar scattering from the foam Analyses show that the estimated subaqueous integrated backscatter is most sensitive to the estimate of transmittance used in the atmospheric correction, and is very insensitive to the estimate of wind speed used. As a case study, CALIOP data over Tampa Bay were compared to MODIS 645 nm remote sensing reflectance, which previously has been shown to be nearly linearly related to turbidity. The results indicate good correlation on nearly all CALIOP clear-free dates during the period 2006 through 2007, particularly those with relatively high atmospheric transmittance. When data are composited over the entire period the correlation is reduced but still statistically significant, an indication of variability in the biogeochemical composition in the water. Overall, the favorable results show promise for the application of satellite lidar integrated backscatter in providing information about subsurface backscatter properties, which can be extracted using appropriate models

Barton, Jonathan S.↗

Acute Radiation Risk and BRYNTRN Organ Dose Projection Graphical User Interface

The integration of human space applications risk projection models of organ dose and acute radiation risk has been a key problem. NASA has developed an organ dose projection model using the BRYNTRN with SUM DOSE computer codes, and a probabilistic model of Acute Radiation Risk (ARR). The codes BRYNTRN and SUM DOSE are a Baryon transport code and an output data processing code, respectively. The risk projection models of organ doses and ARR take the output from BRYNTRN as an input to their calculations. With a graphical user interface (GUI) to handle input and output for BRYNTRN, the response models can be connected easily and correctly to BRYNTRN. A GUI for the ARR and BRYNTRN Organ Dose (ARRBOD) projection code provides seamless integration of input and output manipulations, which are required for operations of the ARRBOD modules. The ARRBOD GUI is intended for mission planners, radiation shield designers, space operations in the mission operations directorate (MOD), and space biophysics researchers. BRYNTRN code operation requires extensive input preparation. Only a graphical user interface (GUI) can handle input and output for BRYNTRN to the response models easily and correctly. The purpose of the GUI development for ARRBOD is to provide seamless integration of input and output manipulations for the operations of projection modules (BRYNTRN, SLMDOSE, and the ARR probabilistic response model) in assessing the acute risk and the organ doses of significant Solar Particle Events (SPEs). The assessment of astronauts radiation risk from SPE is in support of mission design and operational planning to manage radiation risks in future space missions. The ARRBOD GUI can identify the proper shielding solutions using the gender-specific organ dose assessments in order to avoid ARR symptoms, and to stay within the current NASA short-term dose limits. The quantified evaluation of ARR severities based on any given shielding configuration and a specified EVA or other mission scenario can be made to guide alternative solutions for attaining determined objectives set by mission planners. The ARRBOD GUI estimates the whole-body effective dose, organ doses, and acute radiation sickness symptoms for astronauts, by which operational strategies and capabilities can be made for the protection of astronauts from SPEs in the planning of future lunar surface scenarios, exploration of near-Earth objects, and missions to Mars.

Cucinotta, Francis A.↗

Unified Language Frontend for Physic-Informed AI/ML

Artificial intelligence and machine learning (AI/ML) are becoming important tools for scientific modeling and simulation as in several other fields such as image analysis and natural language processing. ML techniques can leverage the computing power available in modern systems and reduce the human effort needed to configure experiments, interpret and visualize results, draw conclusions from huge quantities of raw data, and build surrogates for physics based models. Domain scientists in fields like fluid dynamics, microelectronics and chemistry can automate many of their most difficult and repetitive tasks or improve the design times by use of the faster ML-surrogates. However, modern ML and traditional scientific highperformance computing (HPC) tend to use completely different software ecosystems. While ML frameworks like PyTorch and TensorFlow provide Python APIs, most HPC applications and libraries are written in C++. Direct interoperability between the two languages is possible but is tedious and error-prone. In this work, we show that a compiler-based approach can bridge the gap between ML frameworks and scientific software with less developer effort and better efficiency. We use the MLIR (multi-level intermediate representation) ecosystem to compile a pre-trained convolutional neural network (CNN) in PyTorch to freestanding C++ source code in the Kokkos programming model. Kokkos is a programming model widely used in HPC to write portable, shared-memory parallel code that can natively target a variety of CPU and GPU architectures. Our compiler-generated source code can be directly integrated into any Kokkosbased application with no dependencies on Python or cross-language interfaces.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗

A Review of Machine Learning Applications in Power System Resilience

The integration of power electronics enabled devices and the high penetration of renewable energy drastically increase the complexity of power system operation and control. Power systems are still vulnerable to large-scale blackouts caused by extreme natural events or man-made attacks. With the recent development in artificial intelligence technique, machine learning has shown a processing ability in computational, perceptual and cognitive intelligence. It is an urgent challenge to integrate the advanced machine learning technology and large amount of real-time data from wide area measurement systems and intelligent electronic devices, in order to effectively enhance power system resilience and ensure the reliable and secure operation of power systems. Therefore, this paper aims to systematically review the existing application of machine learning methods on power system resilience enhancement, to expand the interest of researchers and scholars in this topic, and to jointly promote the application of artificial intelligence in the field of power systems.

Deep Learning↗

International Symposium on Remote Sensing of Environment, Fourth Thematic Conference: Remote Sensing for Exploration Geology, San Francisco, CA, April 1-4, 1985, Proceedings. Volumes 1 & 2

State of the art applications of remote sensing in geological exploration programs are discussed along with research and development activities aimed at increasing the future capabilities of this technology for exploration geology. The topics considered include: technical issues in the state of the art; regional exploration models; remote sensing applications for hydrocarbon exploration; commercialization of remote sensing satellites; and data integration. Also addressed are: remote sensing applications for mineral exploration; geobotanical and environmental remote sensing; image processing techniques and applications; advanced sensors, radar, and airborne systems; and engineering, logistics, and marine applications.

Source record↗

Integral Nuclear Data and Benchmarking Needs for Fusion Energy Systems

Fusion energy systems are currently being designed and optimized using radiation transport codes. To deal with the unique environment inside a fusion-based system, many of these designs incorporate novel materials able to withstand the high radiation fields, ensure adequate cooling and thermal protection, and produce tritium. Validation plays a vital role in building trust in the predictive power of these models and computational methods. Validation of a code consists of modeling documented real-world experiments and comparing the code-predicted response to the measured response. Adequate validation requires measured responses from real-world experiments, also known as integral data, that mimic the system being designed, including materials, impinging radiation, and temperature, among other variables. The most trusted integral data are experimental responses that have been through a rigorous benchmarking process that develops a recommended computational model and evaluates all experimental uncertainties. Finally, there are a few research groups around the world that have been producing integral data for fusion applications, but a substantial investment is needed to address the unique validation needs of the fusion community.

Fusion↗

Physics of wurtzite ferroelectrics

Ferroelectricity was long considered incompatible with the wurtzite structure, but the recent discovery of switchable polarization in wurtzite alloys has renewed interest in these materials for integrated electronic and memory applications. The development of wurtzite ferroelectrics faces significant technological challenges, which can be addressed through a fundamental physical understanding of their dielectric and ferroelectric properties. This article focuses on the physics that govern the polarization switching behavior, emphasizing the atomic- and meso-scale (domain) mechanisms involved in the transition between polarization states. A distinguishing feature of this article is a deep dive into the role of intrinsic and extrinsic defects—an area that has received limited attention in prior reviews, but is increasingly recognized as central to polarization switching, coercive fields, leakage, and fatigue. We highlight how defect behavior evolves during processing and electrical cycling, often contributing to long-term degradation. We also introduce powerful first-principles defect calculations, common in semiconductors but not yet widespread in ferroelectrics, as tools to understand and design materials. By integrating recent theoretical and experimental insights, we aim to provide a framework for advancing wurtzite ferroelectrics.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Free-complement local-Schrödinger-equation method for solving the Schrödinger equation of atoms and molecules: Basic theories and features

The free-complement (FC) method is a general method for solving the Schrödinger equation (SE): The produced wave function has the potentially exact structure as the solution of the Schrödinger equation. The variables included are determined either by using the variational principle (FC-VP) or by imposing the local Schrödinger equations (FC-LSE) at the chosen set of the sampling points. The latter method, referred to as the local Schrödinger equation (LSE) method, is integral-free and therefore applicable to any atom and molecule. The purpose of this paper is to formulate the basic theories of the LSE method and explain their basic features. First, we formulate three variants of the LSE method, the AB, HS, and H{sup T}Q methods, and explain their properties. Then, the natures of the LSE methods are clarified in some detail using the simple examples of the hydrogen atom and the Hooke’s atom. Finally, the ideas obtained in this study are applied to solving the SE of the helium atom highly accurately with the FC-LSE method. The results are very encouraging: we could get the world’s most accurate energy of the helium atom within the sampling-type methodologies, which is comparable to those obtained with the FC-VP method. Thus, the FC-LSE method is an easy and yet a powerful integral-free method for solving the Schrödinger equation of general atoms and molecules.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

Application of Direct Current Potential Drop for the J-integral vs. Crack Growth Resistance Curve Characterization

The direct current potential drop (DCPD) technique has been applied to derive the J-integral vs. crack growth resistance curve (J-R curve) for fracture toughness characterization of structural materials. The test matrix covered three materials including type 316LN stainless steels, Ni-based alloy 617, and one ferritic-martensitic steel, three specimen configurations including standard compact, single edge bending, and disk-shaped compact specimens, and temperatures ranging from 20 C to 650 C. When compared with baseline J-R curves derived from the ASTM normalization method, the original J-R curves from the DCPD technique yielded much smaller Jq values due to the influence of crack blunting, plastic deformation, etc. on potential drop. To counter these effects, a new procedure for adjusting DCPD J-R curves was proposed. After applying the new adjustment procedure, the average difference in Jq between the DCPD technique and the normalization method was only 5.2% and the difference in tearing modulus was 7.4%. The promising result demonstrates the applicability of the DCPD technique for the J-R curve characterization especially in extreme environments, such as elevated temperatures, where the conventional elastic unloading compliance method faces considerable challenges.

DCPD↗

Climate Scenarios for the NASA / USAID SERVIR Project: Challenges for Multiple Planning Horizons

SERVIR, an acronym meaning "to serve" in Spanish, is a joint venture between NASA and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) which provides satellite-based Earth observation data, modeling, and science applications to help developing nations in Central America, East Africa and the Himalayas improve environmental decision making. Anticipating climate variability / climate change impacts has now become an important component of the SERVIR efforts to build capacity in these regions. Uncertainty in hydrometeorological components of climate variations and exposure to extreme events across scales from weather to climate are of particular concern. We report here on work to construct scenarios or outlooks that are being developed as input drivers for decision support systems (DSSs) in a variety of settings. These DSSs are being developed jointly by a broad array NASA Applied Science Team (AST) Investigations and user communities in the three SERVIR Hub Regions, Central America, East Africa and the Himalayas. Issues span hydrologic / water resources modeling, agricultural productivity, and forest carbon reserves. The scenarios needed for these efforts encompass seasonal forecasts, interannual outlooks, and likely decadal / multi-decadal trends. Providing these scenarios across the different AST efforts enables some level of integration in considering regional responses to climate events. We will discuss a number of challenges in developing this continuum of scenarios including the identification and "mining" of predictability, addressing multiple continental regions, issues of downscaling global model integrations to regional / local applications (i.e. hydrologic and crop modeling). We compare / contrast the role of the U.S. National Multi- Model Experiment initiative in seasonal forecasts and the CMIP-5 climate model experiments in supporting these efforts. Examples of these scenarios, their use, and an assessment of their utility as well as limitations will be presented.

Robertson, Franklin R.↗

Do-It-Yourself: A Special Library's Approach to Creating Dynamic Web Pages Using Commercial Off-The-Shelf Applications

Many librarians may feel that dynamic Web pages are out of their reach, financially and technically. Yet we are reminded in library and Web design literature that static home pages are a thing of the past. This paper describes how librarians at the Institute for Defense Analyses (IDA) library developed a database-driven, dynamic intranet site using commercial off-the-shelf applications. Administrative issues include surveying a library users group for interest and needs evaluation; outlining metadata elements; and, committing resources from managing time to populate the database and training in Microsoft FrontPage and Web-to-database design. Technical issues covered include Microsoft Access database fundamentals, lessons learned in the Web-to-database process (including setting up Database Source Names (DSNs), redesigning queries to accommodate the Web interface, and understanding Access 97 query language vs. Standard Query Language (SQL)). This paper also offers tips on editing Active Server Pages (ASP) scripting to create desired results. A how-to annotated resource list closes out the paper.

Relational databases↗

Device Performance of Emerging Photovoltaic Materials (Version 1)

Abstract Emerging photovoltaics (PVs) focus on a variety of applications complementing large scale electricity generation. Organic, dye‐sensitized, and some perovskite solar cells are considered in building integration, greenhouses, wearable, and indoor applications, thereby motivating research on flexible, transparent, semitransparent, and multi‐junction PVs. Nevertheless, it can be very time consuming to find or develop an up‐to‐date overview of the state‐of‐the‐art performance for these systems and applications. Two important resources for recording research cells efficiencies are the National Renewable Energy Laboratory chart and the efficiency tables compiled biannually by Martin Green and colleagues. Both publications provide an effective coverage over the established technologies, bridging research and industry. An alternative approach is proposed here summarizing the best reports in the diverse research subjects for emerging PVs. Best performance parameters are provided as a function of the photovoltaic bandgap energy for each technology and application, and are put into perspective using, e.g., the Shockley–Queisser limit. In all cases, the reported data correspond to published and/or properly described certified results, with enough details provided for prospective data reproduction. Additionally, the stability test energy yield is included as an analysis parameter among state‐of‐the‐art emerging PVs.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗