A General Conditional Large Deviation Principle
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71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
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Anti-radiation vaccine: Immunologically-based Prophylaxis of Acute Toxic Radiation Syndromes Associated with Long-term Space Flight
Protecting crew from ionizing radiation is a key life sciences problem for long-duration space missions. The three major sources/types of radiation are found in space: galactic cosmic rays, trapped Van Allen belt radiation, and solar particle events. All present varying degrees of hazard to crews; however, exposure to high doses of any of these types of radiation ultimately induce both acute and long-term biological effects. High doses of space radiation can lead to the development of toxicity associated with the acute radiation syndrome (ARS) which could have significant mission impact, and even render the crew incapable of performing flight duties. The creation of efficient radiation protection technologies is considered an important target in space radiobiology, immunology, biochemistry and pharmacology. Two major mechanisms of cellular, organelle, and molecular destruction as a result of radiation exposure have been identified: 1) damage induced directly by incident radiation on the macromolecules they encounter and 2) radiolysis of water and generation of secondary free radicals and reactive oxygen species (ROS), which induce chemical bond breakage, molecular substitutions, and damage to biological molecules and membranes. Free-radical scavengers and antioxidants, which neutralize the damaging activities of ROS, are effective in reducing the impact of small to moderate doses of radiation. In the case of high doses of radiation, antioxidants alone may be inadequate as a radioprotective therapy. However, it remains a valuable component of a more holistic strategy of prophylaxis and therapy. High doses of radiation directly damage biological molecules and modify chemical bond, resulting in the main pathological processes that drive the development of acute radiation syndromes (ARS). Which of two types of radiation-induced cellular lethality that ultimately develops, apoptosis or necrosis, depends on the spectrum of incident radiation, dose, dose rate, and functional conditions of impacted cells/organisms. The administration of an experimental anti-radiation vaccine may provide an immunologically based, adjunct method of prevention or prophylaxis against clinical ARS. The administration of experimental anti-radiation serum (ARS) and the use of the blood dialysis methods, such as immune plasma-sorption, may assist in the clearance of radiation-specific toxins and may enhance established strategies for the mitigation of the biological effects leading to ARS, and should be evaluated for use on exploration-class space missions.
Popov, Dmitri↗
Sensible-Enthalpy-Based Conditional Moment Closure Model for Homogeneous Charge Compression Ignition with Temperature Inhomogeneity
Abstract This paper presents a sensible-enthalpy-based conditional moment closure (CMC) model for homogeneous charge compression ignition (HCCI) with temperature inhomogeneity. The focus of study is placed on the effects of a conditioning variable on the prediction of heat release rates and developing the mixing models for sensible enthalpy, a reacting scalar. The sensible-enthalpy-based CMC model is validated a priori with 2-D direct numerical simulation (DNS) data for HCCI, and compared with the total-enthalpy-based formulation. Sensible enthalpy is shown to be strongly correlated with temperature, which makes sensible enthalpy well suited for a conditioning variable in CMC for HCCI. Results show that sensible-enthalpy-based CMC performs well for the prediction of heat release rates for all temperature stratification levels investigated in this study, while total-enthalpy-based CMC leads to the overprediction of heat release rates when the temperature stratification level is high. While conditional fluctuations of species mass fractions are substantial, sensible-enthalpy-based CMC is found to accurately estimate heat release rates during ignition, as well as reaction rates of key species, due to substantially suppressed conditional temperature fluctuations. The mapping closure models for the probability density function (PDF) and conditional dissipation rates of sensible enthalpy are proposed. The proposed models are found to capture the characteristics of reactive scalar mixing.
42 ENGINEERING↗
Validation of RELAP-7 for Forced Convective and Natural Circulation Reactor Flows
New reactor designs such as small modular reactors and newly proposed passive safety systems rely on natural circulation two-phase flow cooling of the reactor core under accident conditions. Without a pump to drive the flow, the circulation rate is a strong function of void fraction. Under these conditions where the flow rate, pressure drop, and heat transfer are all closely coupled through the mixture density, the accurate prediction of void fraction is pivotal. Furthermore, while these passive systems boast a more reliable cooling option, the sensitivity of the system to two-phase flow instabilities is more likely than in forced convective cooling and can result in dangerous density wave or flow excursion conditions. Improvement of one-dimensional system codes and further development of three-dimensional code capability are all important efforts in addressing these issues. The proposed work is a critical step towards providing confidence through validation of the capability of thermal-hydraulic tools to meet the emerging challenges in reactor simulation. Historically, system analysis codes develop a stiffness over time due to fine-tuning of adjustable code parameters that result in a reluctance or inability to adopt improved models. Therefore, a rigorous effort should be invested in preparation for RELAP-7 to identify required modeling improvements of constitutive relations and validation of the code applicability to the wide range of possible reactor flow conditions. Part of this validation involves the uncertainty quantification which is a critical step in the Code Scaling, Applicability, and Uncertainty (CSAU) methodology and Best-Estimate Plus Uncertainty (BEPU) licensing method. BEPU allows recovery of safety margins and potentially optimizing plant performance, resulting in economic benefit for the reactor operators. Beginning with the collection of past experimental data covering prototypic LWR conditions, this document reviews three critical datasets available for the validation of system codes. The experimental methods, procedures, facilities, instrumentation, and supplementary information are consolidated to aid the validation efforts of this work and future projects. These three datasets (824 conditions) are chosen due to their wide acceptance and demonstrated application for code validation. Two experimental datasets from the Nuclear Power Engineering Corporation (NUPEC) span prototypic conditions of Boiling Water Reactors (BWR) and Pressurized Water Reactors (PWR). These datasets are labeled as the BFBT (BWR Full-size Fine-mesh Bundle Test) and the PSBT (PWR Subchannel and Bundle Test) datasets respectively. The third dataset is taken in an internally heated annulus that is scaled based on a BWR subassembly and includes two-phase flows important to post-blowdown analysis. Together, the datasets consider the full range of pressure and mass flux expected in LWR forced convective flows from steady-state to long term cooling conditions. Recognizing the deficiency of available data under low-pressure, low-flow, a new natural circulation dataset consisting of 107 conditions is obtained. With system pressures ranging between 145 and 950 kPa, natural circulation is driven by a heat flux up to 275 kW/m2 in a 3 m long heated region of the annulus test section which is followed by a 2 m long unheated region before entering a condenser. Stable natural circulation flow rates in this facility were measured to be between 182 and 590 kg/m2-s. Pressure and temperature are measured at ten locations in the facility. In addition, measurements of void fraction, interfacial area concentration, and gas velocity are obtained at five axial locations in the annulus test section. The RELAP5-3D code demonstrates good accuracy for void fraction predictions in BFBT and PSBT benchmarks, but shows relatively large discrepancy in the annulus experiments at lower pressures. In two-phase natural circulation, large oscillations are observed in many system parameters during the simulation of 19 experiment cases which were conducted at low pressures, and the model shows good predictive performance with the remaining 88 experiment cases. However, some discrepancies in void fraction and temperature predictions are found which may require improved constitutive modeling under these low-pressure, low-flow condition. The quantified uncertainty in void fraction predictions in three forced convection benchmarks due to uncertainties in boundary conditions and geometries are relatively small, except for a few cases in the annulus experiment. The output uncertainty of the natural circulation model is quantified by considering the measurement error in boundary conditions, and it is shown that the output uncertainty ranges are relatively small for the range of conditions considered. Through this work, a clear pathway is provided for validation of RELAP7 once the code is available.
42 ENGINEERING↗
Adjoint-Based Mesh Adaptation and Shape Optimization for Simulations with Propulsion
We demonstrate a well-posed formulation of permeable boundary conditions and mass- flow-rate functionals for adjoint-based mesh refinement and shape optimization governed by the steady Euler equations. The boundary conditions are used to model propulsion- system effects of inlets and nozzles. A two-shock diffuser with an analytic solution is used to verify the implementation. Numerical examples show that the adjoint solution is smooth at the boundary, indicating that the discretization is adjoint consistent when exit pressure is specified at subsonic outflow, and stagnation temperature and pressure at subsonic inflow. The results focus on improving simulation techniques for low-boom aircraft analysis and design. By including mass-flow-rate outputs, we obtain reliable estimates of engine flow rates concurrently with nearfield pressure signatures without increasing simulation cost. We also demonstrate the importance of mass-flow-rate constraints in shape optimization by examining trade-offs between maximizing performance of a shrouded supersonic nozzle and minimizing shocks in its nearfield.
Nemec, Marian↗
Electromigration in thin-film photovoltaic module metallization systems
Electromigration as a possible thin-film module failure mechanism was investigated using several specially made, fully aluminized thin-film photovoltaic (TF-PV) modules. The effect of electromigration, as determined experimentally by measuring increases in electrical resistance across scribe lines, can be expressed as the product of a damage function, which correlates degradation rate with operating conditions such as current density and temperature, and a susceptibility function, which is defined by module design parameters, particularly aluminum purity and the configuration of the intercell region. Experimental measurements and derived acceleration factors suggest that open-circuit failure resulting from electromigration should not be a serious problem in present state-of-the-art TF-PV modules. Nevertheless, significant intercell resistance increases can result from long-term electromigration exposure, especially in future high-efficiency modules. The problem can be alleviated, however, by appropriate metallization applications and/or proper design of the intercell region.
Wen, L.↗
Implicit Coupling Approach for Simulation of Charring Carbon Ablators
This study demonstrates that coupling of a material thermal response code and a flow solver with nonequilibrium gas/surface interaction for simulation of charring carbon ablators can be performed using an implicit approach. The material thermal response code used in this study is the three-dimensional version of Fully Implicit Ablation and Thermal response program, which predicts charring material thermal response and shape change on hypersonic space vehicles. The flow code solves the reacting Navier-Stokes equations using Data Parallel Line Relaxation method. Coupling between the material response and flow codes is performed by solving the surface mass balance in flow solver and the surface energy balance in material response code. Thus, the material surface recession is predicted in flow code, and the surface temperature and pyrolysis gas injection rate are computed in material response code. It is demonstrated that the time-lagged explicit approach is sufficient for simulations at low surface heating conditions, in which the surface ablation rate is not a strong function of the surface temperature. At elevated surface heating conditions, the implicit approach has to be taken, because the carbon ablation rate becomes a stiff function of the surface temperature, and thus the explicit approach appears to be inappropriate resulting in severe numerical oscillations of predicted surface temperature. Implicit coupling for simulation of arc-jet models is performed, and the predictions are compared with measured data. Implicit coupling for trajectory based simulation of Stardust fore-body heat shield is also conducted. The predicted stagnation point total recession is compared with that predicted using the chemical equilibrium surface assumption
Ablation↗
Scale dependence in functional equivalence and difference in the soil microbiome
Climatic history can shape the functioning of soil microbial communities and thus rates of ecosystem processes such as organic matter decomposition. For example, broad spatial scale differences in climatic history, such as contrasting precipitation regimes, have been shown to generate unique microbial functional responses to contemporary moisture conditions. Yet it is an open question as to whether local differences in soil microclimate similarly influence the functional potential of decomposer communities. Here, we use a multi-scale approach within and among two temperate forest field sites to investigate this question. Soils from fifty-four microsites, that vary in their soil moisture climate-regimes, were used as inocula for a common leaf litter (Quercus rubra L.) in a controlled, laboratory microcosm study. Microcosms were placed under dry, mesic and wet lab-moisture conditions and the rate of carbon (C) mineralization of the litter was measured over 202 days. Our results reveal differences in decomposition rates under controlled conditions that highlight broad-scale functional differences between the soil communities at each site. Specifically, we found that C mineralization differed by as much as two-fold for soil communities when compared between the sites. Our results also show that functional differences of soil communities are observable within one site but not the other. In the site where local-scale functional legacies were apparent, the historical soil moisture microclimate-regimes generated as much as an 89% change in C mineralization rates of the leaf litter under the same contemporary, lab-imposed moisture conditions. Here, a similar pattern was not observable in the other site; instead, laboratory moisture conditions explained almost all variation in C mineralization. Notably, for the site with pronounced local-scale functional legacies, there was much greater within-site variation in field-soil microsite moisture than at the site which did not exhibit functional legacies, suggesting that the extent of local-scale variation in microclimate may act as control on whether local-scale functional legacies are observed. Regardless of whether this mechanism does explain our findings, our observations do confirm those from prior studies where regional-scale moisture-regime differences shape microbial function, and extend this prior work by providing evidence that pronounced local-scale differences in soil moisture microclimate-regimes are associated with microbial functional legacies.
54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
Autotuning of Double-Dot Devices In Situ with Machine Learning
The current practice of manually tuning quantum dots (QDs) for qubit operation is a relatively time-consuming procedure that is inherently impractical for scaling up and applications. In this work, we report on the in situ implementation of a recently proposed autotuning protocol that combines machine learning (ML) with an optimization routine to navigate the parameter space. In particular, we show that a ML algorithm trained using exclusively simulated data to quantitatively classify the state of a double-QD device can be used to replace human heuristics in the tuning of gate voltages in real devices. Here, we demonstrate active feedback of a functional double-dot device operated at millikelvin temperatures and discuss success rates as a function of the initial conditions and the device performance. Modifications to the training network, fitness function, and optimizer are discussed as a path toward further improvement in the success rate when starting both near and far detuned from the target double-dot range.
71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
Dynamic properties of FeCrMnNi, a high entropy alloy
The goal of this paper was to assess the dynamic properties of a new class of materials, High entropy alloys (HEAs). Specifically, gas gun experiments coupled with recovery were performed on a specific HEA, FeCrMnNi, to measure its equation of state (EOS) and its spall strength, which is a measure of the stress required to nucleate voids under shock loading conditions. While there has been a plethora of work performed to assess the mechanical properties of these HEAs under uniaxial stress conditions as a function of strain rate, investigation of its properties in dynamic extremes remains rare. The current work fills this gap in knowledge for this novel class of materials. Our results show that the measured EOS for this material at one velocity was in reasonable agreement with an estimated Hugoniot. Furthermore, while the spall strength for this material was found to be ~1.9 GPa, with some variation based on sample location, the main failure mode was brittle. This brittle failure leading to formation of cracks in the material is different than the ductile failure observed in pure iron and its alloys.
36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
Kinematic analysis of 7 DOF anthropomorphic arms
A kinematic analysis of anthropomorphic seven-degree-of-freedom serial link spatial manipulators with revolute joints is presented. To uniquely determine joint angles for a given end-effector position and orientation, the redundancy is parameterized by a scalar variable which corresponds to the angle between the arm plane and a reference plane. The forward kinematic mappings from joint-space to end-effector coordinates and arm angle and the augmented Jacobian matrix which gives end-effector and arm angle rates as functions of joint rates are given. Conditions under which the augmented Jacobian becomes singular are given and are shown to correspond to the arm being either at a kinematically singular configuration or at a nonsingular configuration for which the arm angle ceases to parameterize the redundancy.
Kreutz-Delgado, K.↗
Generation of monodisperse droplets by spontaneous condensation of flow in nozzles
Submicron size monodisperse particles are of interest in many industrial and scientific applications. These include the manufacture of ceramic parts using fine ceramic particles, the production of thin films by deposition of ionized clusters, monodisperse seed particles for laser anemometry, and the study of size dependence of cluster chemical and physical properties. An inexpensive and relatively easy way to generate such particles is by utilizing the phenomenon of spontaneous condensation. The phenomenon occurs when the vapor or a mixture of a vapor and a noncondensing gas is expanded at a high expansion rate. The saturation line is crossed with the supercooled vapor behaving like a gas, until all of a sudden at the so called Wilson point, condensation occurs, resulting in a large number of relatively monodisperse droplets. The droplet size is a function of the expansion rate, inlet conditions, mass fraction of vapor, gas properties, etc. Spontaneous condensation of steam and water vapor and air mixture in a one dimensional nozzle was modeled and the resulting equations solved numerically. The droplet size distribution at the exit of various one dimensional nozzles and the flow characteristics such as pressure ratio, mean droplet radius, vapor and droplet temperatures, nucleation flux, supercooling, wetness, etc., along the axial distance were obtained. The numerical results compared very well with the available experimental data. The effect of inlet conditions, nozzle expansion rates, and vapor mass fractions on droplet mean radius, droplet size distribution, and pressure ratio were examined.
Lai, Der-Shaiun↗
Kinematic analysis of 7-DOF manipulators
This article presents a kinematic analysis of seven-degree-of-freedom serial link spatial manipulators with revolute joints. To uniquely determine the joint angles for a given end-effector position and orientation, the redundancy is parameterized by a scalar variable that defines the angle between the arm plane and a reference plane. The forward kinematic mappings from joint space to end-effector coordinates and arm angle and the augmented Jacobian matrix that gives end-effector and arm angle rates as functions of joint rates are presented. Conditions under which the augmented Jacobian becomes singular are also given and are shown to correspond to the arm being either at a kinematically singular configuration or at a nonsingular configuration for which the arm angle ceases to parameterize the redundancy.
Kreutz-Delgado, Kenneth↗
Containerless processing of undercooled melts
The investigation focused on the control of microstructural evolution in Mn-Al, Fe-Ni, Ni-V, and Au-Pb-Sb alloys through the high undercooling levels provided by containerless processing, and provided fundamental new information on the control of nucleation. Solidification analysis was conducted by means of thermal analysis, x-ray diffraction, and metallographic characterization on samples processed in a laboratory scale drop tube system. The Mn-Al alloy system offers a useful model system with the capability of phase separation on an individual particle basis, thus permitting a more complete understanding of the operative kinetics and the key containerless processing variables. This system provided the opportunity of analyzing the nucleation rate as a function of processing conditions and allowed for the quantitative assessment of the relevant processing parameters. These factors are essential in the development of a containerless processing model which has a predictive capability. Similarly, Ni-V is a model system that was used to study duplex partitionless solidification, which is a structure possible only in high under cooling solidification processes. Nucleation kinetics for the competing bcc and fcc phases were studied to determine how this structure can develop and the conditions under which it may occur. The Fe-Ni alloy system was studied to identify microstructural transitions with controlled variations in sample size and composition during containerless solidification. This work was forwarded to develop a microstructure map which delineates regimes of structural evolution and provides a unified analysis of experimental observations. The Au-Pb-Sb system was investigated to characterize the thermodynamic properties of the undercooled liquid phase and to characterize the glass transition under a variety of processing conditions. By analyzing key containerless processing parameters in a ground based drop tube study, a carefully designed flight experiment may be planned to utilize the extended duration microgravity conditions of orbiting spacecraft.
Perepezko, J. H.↗
Dynamic properties of FeCrMnNi, a High Entropy Alloy
The goal of this paper was to assess the dynamic properties of a new class of materials, High entropy alloys (HEAs). Specifically, gas gun experiments coupled with recovery were performed on a specific HEA, FeCrMnNi, to measure its equation of state (EOS) and its spall strength, which is a measure of the stress required to nucleate voids under shock loading conditions. While there has been a plethora of work performed to assess the mechanical properties of these HEAs under uniaxial stress conditions as a function of strain rate, investigation of its properties in dynamic extremes remains rare. The current work fills this gap in knowledge for this novel class of materials. Our results show that the measured EOS for this material at one velocity was in reasonable agreement with an estimated Hugoniot. Furthermore, while the spall strength for this material was found to be ~1.9 GPa, with some variation based on sample location, the main failure mode wasbrittle. This brittle failure leading to formation of cracks in the material is different than the ductile failure observed in pure iron and its alloys. DOE/NV/03624--1298
36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
Hydrodynamic effects on cell growth in agitated microcarrier bioreactors
The net growth rate of bovine embryonic kidney cells in microcarrier bioreactor is the result of a variable death rate imposed on a cell culture trying to grow at a constant intrinsic growth rate. The death rate is a function of the agitation conditions in the system, and increases at higher agitation because of increasingly energetic interactions of the cell covered microcarriers with turbulent eddies in the fluid. At very low agitation rates bead-bead bridging becomes important; the large clumps formed by bridging can interact with larger eddies than single beads, leading to a higher death rate at low agitation. The growth and death rate were correlated with a dimensionless eddy number which compares eddy forces to the buoyant force on the bead.
Cherry, Robert S.↗
Effect of wind pressure and modulation schemes on rain interrupted optical wireless links under tropical climates
Tropical and subtropical regions experience heavy rain intensities often accompanied with medium to strong winds. In this work, the effect of perpendicular wind flow and various modulation formats on a rain interrupted optical wireless link is investigated experimentally under controlled laboratory conditions. Attenuation as a function of rain rate is observed at different wind pressure. It is found that rain induced scattering dominates the rain specific attenuation however significant attenuation is expected at much higher wind pressure which normally increases with altitudes. A comparative performance of modulation formats like direct intensity modulation (D-IM), pulse width modulation (PWM) and various subcarrier intensity modulated (SIM) signals under heavy rain conditions is reported. It is found that SIM-FSK and SIM-AM offer better signal to noise performance (approximately two times) followed by subcarrier phase (SIM-PM) and frequency (SIM-FM) respectively. Also, SIM-FSK and PWM are least attenuated in heavy precipitation.
42 ENGINEERING↗
Temporal dynamics of CO 2 and CH 4 loss potentials in response to rapid hydrological shifts in tidal freshwater wetland soils
Earth System Models predict climate extremes that will impact regional and global hydrology. Aquatic-terrestrial transition zones like wetlands are subjected to the immediate consequence of climate change with shifts in the magnitude and dynamics of hydrologic flow. Such fluctuating hydrology can alter the nature and rate of biogeochemical transformations and significantly impact the carbon balance of the ecosystem. We tested the impacts of fluctuating hydrology and, specifically, the role of antecedent moisture conditions in determining the dominant carbon loss mechanisms in soils sampled from a tidal freshwater wetland system in the lower Columbia River, WA, USA. Our objective was to understand shifts in biogeochemical processes in response to changing soil moisture, based on soil respiration and methane production rates, and to elucidate such responses based on the observed electron acceptor and metabolite profiles under laboratory conditions. Metabolomics and biogeochemical process rates provided evidence that soil redox was the principal factor driving metabolic function. Fluctuating redox conditions altered terminal electron acceptor and donor availability and recovery strengths of their concentrations in soil such that a disproportionate release of carbon dioxide stemmed from alternative anaerobic degradation processes like sulfate and iron reduction compared to carbon loss due to methano genesis. Our results show that extended and short-term saturation created conditions conducive to increasing metabolite availability for anaerobic decomposition processes, with a significant lag in methanogenesis. In contrast,extended drying caused a cellular-level stress response and rapid recycling of alternate electron acceptors.
anaerobic respiration, tidal wetlands, methane pro↗