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At least 19 records

Trajectory analysis with geometric features

Described herein are various technologies pertaining to extracting one or more features from trajectory data recorded during motion of a body, and further, generating a n-dimensional feature vector based upon the one or more extracted features. The n-dimensional feature vector enables expedited analysis of the trajectory data from which the feature vector was generated. For example, rather than having to analyze a trajectory curve comprising a large number of time-position data points, the n-dimensional feature vector can be compared with one or more search parameters to facilitate clustering of the trajectory data associated with the n-dimensional feature vector with other trajectory data which also satisfies the search request. The trajectory data can be plotted on a screen in combination with the n-dimensional feature vector, and other pertinent information. The trajectory data, etc., can be displayed using heat maps or other graphical representation.

Wilson, Andrew T.↗

Trajectory prediction via a feature vector approach

Described herein are various technologies pertaining to extracting one or more features from trajectory data recorded during motion of a body, and further, generating a n-dimensional feature vector based upon the one or more extracted features. The n-dimensional feature vector enables expedited analysis of the trajectory data from which the feature vector was generated. For example, rather than having to analyze a trajectory curve comprising a large number of time-position data points, the n-dimensional feature vector can be compared with one or more search parameters to facilitate clustering of the trajectory data associated with the n-dimensional feature vector with other trajectory data which also satisfies the search request. The trajectory data can be plotted on a screen in combination with the n-dimensional feature vector, and other pertinent information. The trajectory data, etc., can be displayed using heat maps or other graphical representation.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗

Chaotic and integrable magnetic fields in one-dimensional hybrid Vlasov–Maxwell equilibria

The construction of kinetic equilibrium states is important for studying stability and wave propagation in collisionless plasmas. Thus, many studies over the past decades have been focused on calculating Vlasov–Maxwell equilibria using analytical and numerical methods. However, the problem of kinetic equilibrium of hybrid models is less studied, and self-consistent treatments often adopt restrictive assumptions ruling out cases with irregular and chaotic behaviour, although such behaviour is observed in spacecraft observations of space plasmas. In this paper, we develop a one-dimensional (1-D), quasineutral, hybrid Vlasov–Maxwell equilibrium model with kinetic ions and massless fluid electrons and derive associated solutions. The model allows for an electrostatic potential that is expressed in terms of the vector potential components through the quasineutrality condition. The equilibrium states are calculated upon solving an inhomogeneous Beltrami equation that determines the magnetic field, where the inhomogeneous term is the current density of the kinetic ions and the homogeneous term represents the electron current density. We show that the corresponding 1-D system is Hamiltonian, with position playing the role of time, and its trajectories have a regular, periodic behaviour for ion distribution functions that are symmetric in the two conserved particle canonical momenta. For asymmetric distribution functions, the system is nonintegrable, resulting in irregular and chaotic behaviour of the fields. The electron current density can modify the magnetic field phase space structure, inducing orbit trapping and the organization of orbits into large islands of stability. Thus, the electron contribution can be responsible for the emergence of localized electric field structures that induce ion trapping. We also provide a paradigm for the analytical construction of hybrid equilibria using a rotating two-dimensional harmonic oscillator Hamiltonian, enabling the calculation of analytic magnetic fields and the construction of the corresponding distribution functions in terms of Hermite polynomials.

Kaltsas, Dimitrios A. (ORCID:0000000300769015)↗

Sensitivity of back‐projection algorithm (BPA) synthetic aperture radar (SAR) image formation to initial position, velocity, and attitude navigation errors

Abstract The Back‐Projection Algorithm (BPA) is a time‐domain‐matched filtering technique to form synthetic aperture radar (SAR) images. To produce high‐quality BPA images, precise navigation data for the radar platform must be known. Errors in position, velocity, or attitude result in improperly formed images that are corrupted by shifting and blurring. The contribution of this paper is the development of analytical expressions that characterise the relationship between navigation errors and image formation errors from an inertial navigation point of view, where trajectory estimation errors in position, velocity, and attitude propagate through time and cause compounding errors in the vehicle state vector. These analytical expressions are verified via simulated image formation and real‐data image formation.

Lindstrom, Colton↗

Seismic Recovery of Acoustic Source Height During the OSIRIS-REx Sample Return Capsule Re-Entry

Controlled hypersonic reentries with well‐constrained trajectories are exceedingly rare, yet they provide valuable reference cases for validating geophysical source characterization methods applicable to bolides and space debris. The 24 September 2023 re‐entry of the OSIRIS‐REx Sample Return Capsule, the first interplanetary capsule to return over the contiguous United States in nearly two decades, presented such an opportunity. Here, we present seismic observations of this event recorded at 16 stations across three sites at ground distances of 7–20 km from the trajectory. Using eigenray tracing through ground‐to‐space atmospheric specifications, we invert picked acoustic‐to‐seismic travel times for effective shock‐generated acoustic source altitudes along the known trajectory. The method recovers source heights of 57.9–59.5 km with travel‐time residuals <1 s across all stations. The seismic‐derived source heights, when compared at their along‐track positions, fall within the range of previously published infrasound‐derived heights for the corresponding trajectory segment, with intermethod differences comparable with the timing‐based uncertainty. These results suggest that air‐to‐ground coupling does not introduce a resolvable systematic timing bias in the picked near‐field seismic arrivals, supporting seismic observations as a complementary tool for altitude estimation of bolides, re‐entry vehicles, and other hypersonic atmospheric sources.

Silber, Elizabeth Allaryce [Sandia National Labora↗

Reconstruction and analysis of exploding wire particle trajectories via automatic calibration of stereo images

Quantitative understanding of the physics of dust or granular matter transport significantly impacts several aspects of burning plasma science and technology. Here, this work takes machine vision techniques popular in robotics and self-driving cars and applies them to identification and analysis of microparticles generated from exploding wires. Using only the image frames and knowledge of the intrinsic properties of the cameras, a Python code was written to identify the particles, automatically calibrate the relative image positions, and extract trajectory data. After identifying approximately 50 particles based on the timing of secondary particle explosions, the eight point and random sample consensus algorithms were used to determine the geometric correlation between the cameras. Over 100 particle matches were found between the two camera views. These correlated trajectories were used in subsequent 3D track reconstruction and analysis of the physics behind the particle motion. The 3D reconstruction resulted in accurate positioning of the particles with respect to the experimental setup. The particle motion was consistent with the effects of a 1 g gravitational field modified by drag forces. Lastly, the methods and analyses presented here can be used in many facets of high temperature plasma diagnostics.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗

Three-dimensional super line-localization in low signal-to-noise microscope images via prior-apprised unsupervised learning (PAUL)

Biological processes such as processive enzyme turnover and intracellular cargo tracking involve the dynamic motion of a small "article" along a curvilinear biopolymer track. To understand these processes that occur across multiple length and time scales, one must acquire both the trajectory of the particle and the position of the track along which it moves, possibly by combining high-resolution single-particle tracking with conventional microscopy. Yet, usually there is a significant resolution mismatch between these modalities: while the tracked particle is localized with a precision of 10 nm, the image of the surroundings is limited by optical difraction, with 200 nm lateral and 500 nm axial resolutions. Compared to the particle's trajectory, the surrounding curvilinear structure appears as a blurred and noisy image. This disparity in the spatial resolutions of the particle trajectory and the surrounding curvilinear structure image makes data reconstruction, as well as interpretation, particularly challenging. Analysis is further complicated when the curvilinear structures are oriented arbitrarily in 3D space. Here, we present a prior-apprised unsupervised learning (PAUL) approach to extract information from 3D images where the underlying features resemble a curved line such as a filament or microtubule. This three-stage framework starts with a Hessian-based feature enhancement, which is followed by feature registration, where local line segments are detected on repetitively sampled subimage tiles. In the final stage, statistical learning, segments are clustered based on their geometric relationships. Principal curves are then approximated from each segment group via statistical tools including principal component analysis, bootstrap and kernel transformation. This procedure is characterized on simulated images, where sub-voxel medium deviations from true curves have been achieved. The 3D PAUL approach has also been implemented for successful line localization in experimental 3D images of gold nanowires obtained using a multifocal microscope. Lastly, this work not only bridges the resolution gap between two microscopy modalities, but also allows us to conduct 3D super line-localization imaging experiments, without using super-resolution techniques.

42 ENGINEERING↗

Identifying Light-Duty Vehicle Travel from Large-Scale Multimodal Wearable GPS Data with Novelty Detection Algorithms

Identifying travel mode within travel survey data sets, especially light-duty vehicle (LDV) travel, is foundational, though nontrivial, to travel behavior analysis and fuel consumption estimation. Current travel mode detection approaches require well-sampled and balanced data sets with ground truth travel mode labels. They are rarely applied and validated on large-scale, real-world data sets, which may not satisfy the data requirements. This paper proposes an LDV travel mode detection model as a supplement to current travel mode detection methods, for the case when the training set is highly (and/or completely) unbalanced, to the extent that classical machine-learning approaches become difficult or impossible to deploy. The proposed model uses a novelty detection technique-one-class support vector machines (OCSVMs)-and a novel exhaustive feature extraction (EFE) technique on continuous time series data (i.e., Global Positioning System [GPS] speed profiles) for single-mode trip trajectories. Training and validation of the model are conducted on a large-scale, real-world data set. The proposed method accurately identifies LDV trips from a broad set of multimodal trips by leveraging a wealth of preexisting in-vehicle GPS travel data. Additional sensitivity analysis sheds light on the optimal training size, which will benefit applications limited by highly imbalanced data. The paper also discusses performance comparison with regular machine-learning approaches, the model's robustness, and the potential to extend the proposed model to multimodal prediction.

47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION↗

Light-Duty Vehicle Trip Classification Using One-Class Novelty Detection and Exhaustive Feature Extraction

Travel mode classification within travel survey data sets, especially light-duty vehicle (LDV) trips, is foundational, though nontrivial, to emerging mobility systems, travel behavior analysis, and fuel consumption estimation. Current travel mode detection approaches require well-sampled and balanced data sets with ground truth travel mode labels. The detection approaches are rarely applied and validated on large-scale, real-world data sets, which may not satisfy the dataset requirements. This work proposes an LDV trip detection model as a supplement to current travel mode detection methods, for the case when the training set is highly (and/or completely) unbalanced, to the extent that classical machine-learning approaches become difficult or impossible to deploy. The proposed model uses a novelty detection technique - one-class support vector machines (OCSVMs) - and a novel exhaustive feature extraction (EFE) technique on continuous time series data (i.e., Global Positioning System [GPS] speed profiles) for single-mode trip trajectories. Training and validation of the model are conducted on a large-scale, real-world data set. The proposed method accurately identifies LDV trips from a broad set of multimodal trips by leveraging a wealth of preexisting in-vehicle GPS travel data. Additional sensitivity analysis sheds light on the optimal training size and feature selection, which will benefit applications limited by highly imbalanced data. The paper also discusses performance comparison with regular machine-learning approaches, the model's robustness, and the potential to extend the proposed model to multi-modal trip prediction.

33 ADVANCED PROPULSION SYSTEMS↗

Proposed Test of the Two Beam BPM at RHIC

The essence of the ERL operation implies that at least two beams (accelerated and decelerated) are co-propagating in the same vacuum vessel and each beam has its own trajectory. The existing beam position monitors measure only “average” trajectory but not that of an individual beam, unless the time separation between bunches is so large that one can resolve individual bunches. It was proposed to use phase information of the pick-up signal to extract information on the orbit “difference”. We are planning to conduct experiments at RHIC to test the proposed idea. The approach and experiment set-up are described in the paper.

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS↗

Magnetic Velocity Gauges: Effects of Misalignment

Embedded velocity gauges are standardly used at LANL on gas gun experiments of a shock to-detonation transition. The experiments are intended to be one-dimensional with a planar shock driven by the projectile from a gas gun propagating along the axis of the HE cylinder. As disussed by Gustavsen et al. [1999], the accuracy of the gauges depends on the alignment of the directions of shock propagation, magnetic field and the active gauge element. A source of inaccuracies is from tilt or misalignment angle at impact between the projectile surface and the HE surface; typically a few milliradians. This leads to the shock propagating at a slight angle to the axis of the HE cylinder and can affect the shock rise time of the velocity gauges, the time offset between the tracker gauges for the trajectory of the lead shock, and the gauge positions in the direction of propagation. It is important to note that tilt is characterized by 2 parameters; the magnitude of the angle relative to the HE axis and the direction in the plane transverse to the HE axis. Here we derive the uncertainties from tilt to leading order in the tilt angle.

42 ENGINEERING↗

Navigation Application Programming Interface Route Fuel Saving Opportunity Assessment on Large-Scale Real-World Travel Data for Conventional Vehicles and Hybrid Electric Vehicles

The green-routing strategy instructing a vehicle to select a fuel-efficient route benefits the current transportation system with fuel-saving opportunities. This paper introduces a navigation application programming interface (API), route fuel-saving evaluation framework for estimating fuel advantages of alternative API routes based on large-scale, real-world travel data for conventional vehicles (CVs) and hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs). Navigation APIs, such as Google Directions API, integrate traffic conditions and provide feasible alternative routes for origin-destination pairs. This paper develops two link-based fuel-consumption models stratified by link-level speed, road grade, and functional class (local/non-local), one for CVs and the other for HEVs. The link-based fuel-consumption models are built by assigning travel from many global positioning system driving traces to the links in TomTom MultiNet and road grade data from the U.S. Geological Survey elevation data set. Fuel consumption on a link is computed by the proposed model. This paper envisions two kinds of applications: (1) identifying alternate routes that save fuel, and (2) quantifying the potential fuel savings for large amounts of travel. An experiment based on a large-scale California Household Travel Survey global positioning system trajectory data set is conducted. The fuel consumption and savings of CVs and HEVs are investigated. At the same time, the trade-off between fuel saving and travel time due to choosing different routes is also examined for both powertrains.

33 ADVANCED PROPULSION SYSTEMS↗

Modal analysis of the behavior of inertial particles in turbulence subjected to Stokes drag

The clustering of small heavy inertial particles subjected to Stokes drag in turbulence, which is the concern of present study, is known to be minimal at small and large Stokes number and substantial at St = $\textit{O}$(1). This nonmonotonic trend, which has been shown computationally and experimentally, is yet to be explained analytically. In this study, we obtain an analytical expression for the Lyapunov exponents that quantitatively predicts this trend. The sum of the exponents, which is the normalized rate of change of the signed volume of a small cloud of particles, is correctly predicted to be negative and positive at small and large Stokes numbers, respectively, asymptoting to $\textit{τQ}$ as $\textit{τ}$ → 0 and $τ^{–1/2}|Q|^{1/4}$ as $\textit{τ} → ∞$, where $\textit{τ}$ is the particle relaxation time and $\textit{Q(τ)}$ is the difference between the norm of the rotation- and strain-rate tensors computed along the particle trajectory, which remains negative at all $\textit{τ}$ in turbulent flows. Additionally, the trajectory crossing is predicted only in hyperbolic flows where Q < 0 for sufficiently inertial particles with a $\textit{τ}$ that scales with $|Q|^{–1/2}$. Following the onset of crossovers, a transition from clustering to dispersion is predicted correctly. We show these behaviors are not unique to three-dimensional isotropic turbulence and can be reproduced closely by a one-dimensional mono-harmonic flow, which appears as a fundamental canonical problem in the study of particle clustering. Analysis of this one-dimensional canonical flow shows that the rate of clustering, quantified as the product of the Lyapunov exponent and particle relaxation time, is bounded by –1/2, behaving with extreme nonlinearity in the hyperbolic flows and always remaining positive in the elliptic flows. Finally, this model problem also confirms that dispersion in a hyperbolic flow will occur only if particles' trajectory cross. These findings, which stem from our analysis, are corroborated by the direct numerical simulations.

42 ENGINEERING↗

Machine Learning Analysis of Direct Dynamics Trajectory Outcomes for Thermal Deazetization of 2,3-Diazabicyclo[2.2.1]hept-2-ene

Experimentally, the thermal gas-phase deazetization of 2,3-diazabicyclo[2.2.1]hept-2-ene (1) results in the loss of N2 and the formation of bicyclo products 3 (exo) and 4 (endo) in a nonstatistical ratio, with preference for the exo product. Here, we report unrestricted M06-2X quasiclassical trajectories initialized from the concerted N2 ejection transition state that were able to replicate the experimental preference to form 3. We found that the 3:4 ratio results from the relative amounts of very fast (ballistic) exotype trajectories versus trajectories that lead to the 1,3-diradical intermediate 2. These quasiclassical trajectories provided a set of transition-state vibrational, velocity, momenta, and geometric features for the machine learning analysis. Additionally, a selection of popular supervised classification algorithms (e.g., random forest) provided poor prediction of trajectory outcomes based on only transition-state vibrational quanta and energy features. However, these machine learning models provided more accurate predictions using atomic velocities and atomic positions, attaining ~70% accuracy using initial conditions and between 85 and 95% accuracy at later reaction time steps. This increased accuracy allowed the feature importance analysis to reveal that, at the later-time analysis, the methylene bridge out-of-plane bending is correlated with trajectory outcomes for the formation of either the exo product or toward the diradical intermediate. Possible reasons for the struggle of machine learning algorithms to classify trajectories based on transition-state features is the heavily overlapping feature values, the finite but very large possible vibrational mode combinations, and the possibility of chaos as trajectories propagate. We examined this chaos by comparing a set of nearly identical trajectories that differed by only a very small scaling of the kinetic energies resulting from the transition-state reaction coordinate.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

An Approach to Realize Generalized Optimal Motion Primitives Using Physics Informed Neural Networks

Autonomous manipulation is a challenging problem in field robotics due to uncertainty in object properties, constraints, and coupling phenomenon with robot control systems. Humans learn motion primitives over time to effectively interact with the environment. We postulate that autonomous manipulation can be enabled by basic sets of motion primitives as well, but do not necessitate mimicking human motion primitives. Here, this work presents an approach to generalized optimal motion primitives using physics-informed neural networks. Our simulated and experimental results demonstrate that optimality is notionally maintained where the mean maximum observed final position percent error was 0.564% and the average mean error for all the trajectories was 1.53%. These results indicate that notional generalization is attained using a physics-informed neural network approach that enables near optimal real-time adaptation of primitive motion profiles.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗

Scaling of silicon nanoparticle growth in low temperature flowing plasmas

Low temperature plasmas are an emerging method to synthesize high quality nanoparticles (NPs). An established and successful technique to produce NPs is using a capacitively coupled plasma (CCP) in cylindrical geometry. Although a robust synthesis technique, optimizing or specifying NP properties using CCPs, is challenging. In this paper, results from a computational investigation for the growth of silicon NPs in flowing inductively coupled plasmas (ICPs) using Ar/SiH 4 gas mixtures of up to a few Torr are discussed. ICPs produce more locally constrained and quiescent plasma potentials. These positive plasma potentials produce an electrostatic trap for negatively charged NPs, which can significantly extend the residence time of NPs in the plasma, which in turn provides a controllable period for particle growth. The computational platforms used in this study consist of a two-dimensional plasma hydrodynamics model, a three-dimensional nanoparticle growth and trajectory tracking model, and a molecular dynamics simulation for deriving reactive sticking coefficients of silane radicals on Si NPs. Trends for the nanoparticle growth as a function of SiH 4 inlet fraction, gas residence time, energy deposition per particle, pressure, and reactor diameter are discussed. The general path for particle synthesis is the trapping of small NPs in the positive electrostatic potential, followed by entrainment in the gas flow upon reaching a critical particle size. Optimizing or controlling NP synthesis then depends on the spatial distribution of plasma potential, the density of growth species, and the relative time that particles spend in the electrostatic trap and flowing through higher densities of growth species upon leaving the trap.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗

Retooling a Trade Association in a Challenged Industry: The Nuclear Energy Institute Story - 18503

The U.S. Nuclear industry is facing significant challenges to maintain economic competitiveness in an electricity supply sector where advances in natural gas, wind, and solar technologies are reshaping the marketplace. As clean and reliable baseload generation, nuclear still has a valuable role to play. But in order for the power of the atom to remain available for meeting the nation's energy, environmental, and national security needs, it will be imperative that industry leadership innovate and become more efficient at a pace that matches the competition. Industry leaders rely, to a large extent, on their trade association - the Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI) - to be the prime mover in championing initiatives that will enable a successful future. NEI realized that, in the face of an increasingly difficult economic situation, it must become both leaner and more forward looking - it would have to extend its reach and influence while at the same time reigning in costs to its membership. Therefore, on January 17, 2017 NEI completed a restructuring to improve member value and organizational effectiveness. This restructuring was designed in recognition that the nuclear industry is at a pivotal time, and NEI had a unique opportunity to change its trajectory and underline the importance of nuclear energy's role in the nation's critical infrastructure. NEI is now better positioned to support the existing reactor fleet, promote commercialization of advanced reactors, and drive American leadership in commercial nuclear exports and technology around the world. NEI began this restructuring in the fall of 2016 when it consolidated Government Affairs, Communications, Policy and Public Affairs under a new External Affairs function. The January 2017 action extended that effort across the remainder of the organization, ensuring that the organization is highly aligned, member-focused and results driven. The new NEI takes pride in the fact that it is comprised of talented employees who are passionate about nuclear energy and can make a difference for our membership. With this team in place, NEI looks forward to advancing the interests of the nuclear industry while contributing to a safer, cleaner and more productive world. This paper will examine the details of how this new organization was constructed, provide an overview of the National Nuclear Energy Strategy it developed to guide its efforts, examine the trials and tribulations that come along with disruptive change, and reflect on what has been accomplished in the retooled organizations first year. (authors)

99 GENERAL AND MISCELLANEOUS↗

Evaluation of radiation hardness of semiconductor materials against alpha particles for an API detector

An Associated Particle Imaging (API) system consists of a high vacuum chamber where deuterium ions are accelerated on a tritium-loaded target, resulting in alpha particles and neutrons emitted back-to-back, the latter escaping the chamber and used, for example, for tomography of a high-Z sample. An accurate determination of the alpha position is crucial to determine the trajectory of the neutron. Existing API systems have several limitations which a semiconductor-based API detector placed inside the vacuum chamber should not present. The semiconductor material can be either silicon or diamond. In particular, large and fast signals are generated by the alpha interactions in these materials. A pixelated API detector will measure the time and hit position of the alphas produced in the reaction. However, during the lifetime of the generator, the semiconductor detector will be exposed to an intense flux of alpha particles that will degrade its performance over time. To assess the radiation hardness of silicon and diamond against the alpha particles, we exposed single diodes made of either of the two materials to a 5 MeV alpha flux generated by an 241Am radioactive source. During irradiation, the diodes were biased and mounted on current-sensitive preamplifier boards. We have therefore been able to measure insitu the evolution of the waveforms as the damage was accumulating in their substrates.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗