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DOE OSTI2025

Effect of reversible dislocation-based deformation on nanoparticle strain at failure

Molecular dynamics simulations are used to isolate and quantify the reversible and irreversible mechanisms that contribute to deformation in platinum nanoparticles under compression. Quantitative analysis reveals how the nucleation and entanglement of dislocations can lead to reversible dislocation-based deformation. Simulations run at different temperatures and loading conditions show that the formation of entangled dislocations is more likely at higher temperatures and is facilitated by loading orientations where dislocations nucleate on intersecting slip planes. The presence of entangled dislocations increases the strain at failure due to the ability of those dislocations to accommodate strain reversibly. The results are corroborated by the observation of similar entangled dislocation loops during in situ compression experiments on nanoparticles of the same material. Altogether, these findings provide insight into the role of dislocations in both reversible and irreversible deformation and their implications for nanoparticle stability and properties.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

DOE OSTI2023

Multi-level parallelization of quantum-chemical calculations

Here, strategies for multiple-level parallelizations of quantum-mechanical calculations are discussed, with an emphasis on using groups of workers for performing parallel tasks. These parallel programming models can be used for a variety ab initio quantum chemistry approaches, including the fragment molecular orbital method and replica-exchange molecular dynamics. Strategies for efficient load balancing on problems of increasing granularity are introduced and discussed. A four-level parallelization is developed based on a multi-level hierarchical grouping, and a high parallel efficiency is achieved on the Theta supercomputer using 131 072 OpenMP threads.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

DOE OSTI2022

Fundamental Investigations into the Properties and Performance of Advanced Materials

Intelligent engineering designs require an accurate understanding of material behavior, since any uncertainties or gaps in knowledge must be counterbalanced with heightened factors of safety, leading to overdesign. Therefore, building better structures and pushing the performance of new components requires an improved understanding of the thermomechanical response of advanced materials under service conditions. This dissertation provides fundamental investigations of several advanced materials: thermoset polymers, a common matrix material for fiber-reinforced composites and nanocomposites; aluminum alloy 7075-T6 (AA7075-T6), a high-performance aerospace material; and ceramic matrix composites (CMCs), an advanced composite for extreme-temperature applications. To understand matrix interactions with various interfaces and nanoinclusions at their fundamental scale, the properties of thermoset polymers are studied at the atomistic scale. An improved proximity-based molecular dynamics (MD) technique for modeling the crosslinking of thermoset polymers is carefully established, enabling realistic curing simulations through its ability to dynamically and probabilistically perform complex topology transformations. The proximity-based MD curing methodology is then used to explore damage initiation and the local anisotropic evolution of mechanical properties in thermoset polymers under uniaxial tension with an emphasis on changes in stiffness through a series of tensile loading, unloading, and reloading experiments. Aluminum alloys in aerospace applications often require a fatigue life of over 109 cycles, which is well over ii the number of cycles that can be practically tested using conventional fatigue testing equipment. In order to study these high-life regimes, a detailed ultrasonic cycle fatigue study is presented for AA7075-T6 under fully reversed tension-compression loading. The geometric sensitivity, frequency effects, size effects, surface roughness effects, and the corresponding failure mechanisms for ultrasonic fatigue across different fatigue regimes are investigated. Finally, because CMCs are utilized in extreme environments, oxidation plays an important role in their degradation. A multiphysics modeling methodology is thus developed to address the complex coupling between oxidation, mechanical stress, and oxygen diffusion in heterogeneous carbon fiber-reinforced CMC microstructures.

Schichtel, Jacob J.↗

DOE OSTI2025

Porous Flow Modeling of Axial Gas Redistribution in Fragmented LWR Fuel Rods using MOOSE

Understanding how gas axially redistributes within fragmented fuel pellets is crucial for predicting the behavior of Light Water Reactor (LWR) fuel rods, particularly during transient and accidental scenarios. The time scale of this phenomenon plays a fundamental role in determining the progression and hazard of a Loss Of Coolant Accident (LOCA), especially when high burn-up fuel in a severe state of fragmentation is involved. Here, this study presents a Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) model developed within the Multiphysics Object-Oriented Simulation Environment (MOOSE) to predict the time-scale of plenum depressurization in Light-Water Reactor (LWR) fuel rods driven by axial gas transport through fragmented pellets. The model examines the effects of incorporating non-linearities in the friction term by comparing the results with experimental data. The experiment employed surrogate fuel rods containing pellets subjected to mechanical and/or thermal loadings to simulate various severity of cracking, and aimed at studying the influence of fuel conditions on axial gas redistribution. The results of this analysis indicate that under certain flow regime conditions - determined by the value of an equivalent Reynolds number - accounting for the non-linear friction term in Navier-Stokes equations guarantees better predictions for the time-scale of plenum depressurization. Also, the model enabled the simulation of the pressure decay by assigning distinct permeability values to each pellet instead of a single uniform value. Multiple simulations were run across all possible pellet position combinations, having each pellet assigned with values of permeability extracted from the experimental data. This allows to quantify the impact of the considering various non-uniform distributions of permeability on the dynamics of axial gas redistribution. The present work findings enhance the understanding of axial gas transport, and provide valuable insights for the integration of a model for predicting the axial gas redistribution during a LOCA scenario into the BISON fuel performance code.

11 - NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS↗

DOE OSTI2023

Interplay between liver and blood stages of Plasmodium infection dictates malaria severity via γδ T cells and IL-17-promoted stress erythropoiesis

Plasmodium replicates within the liver prior to reaching the bloodstream and infecting red blood cells. Because clinical manifestations of malaria only arise during the blood stage of infection, a perception exists that liver infection does not impact disease pathology. By developing a murine model where the liver and blood stages of infection are uncoupled, we showed that the integration of signals from both stages dictated mortality outcomes. This dichotomy relied on liver stage-dependent activation of Vγ4 + γδ T cells. Subsequent blood stage parasite loads dictated their cytokine profiles, where low parasite loads preferentially expanded IL-17-producing γδ T cells. IL-17 drove extra-medullary erythropoiesis and concomitant reticulocytosis, which protected mice from lethal experimental cerebral malaria (ECM). Adoptive transfer of erythroid precursors could rescue mice from ECM. Modeling of γδ T cell dynamics suggests that this protective mechanism may be key for the establishment of naturally acquired malaria immunity among frequently exposed individuals.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗

DOE OSTI2025

Understanding the structural mechanics of ligated DNA crystals via molecular dynamics simulation

DNA self-assembly is a highly programmable method to construct arbitrary architectures based on sequence complementarity. Among various constructs, DNA crystals are macroscopic crystalline materials formed by assembling motifs via sticky end association. Due to their high structural integrity and size ranging from tens to hundreds of micrometers, DNA crystals offer unique opportunities to study the structural properties and deformation behaviors of DNA assemblies. For example, enzymatic ligation of sticky ends can selectively seal nicks resulting in more robust structures with enhanced mechanical properties. However, the research efforts have been mostly on experiments involving different motif designs, structural optimization, or new synthesis methods, while their mechanics are not yet fully understood. The complex properties of DNA crystals are difficult to study via experiments alone, and numerical simulation can complement and aid the experiments. The coarse-grained molecular dynamics (MD) simulation is a powerful tool that can probe the mechanics of DNA assemblies. Here, we investigate DNA crystals made of four different motif lengths with various ligation patterns (full ligation, major directions, connectors, and in-plane) using oxDNA, an open-source, coarse-grained MD platform. We found that several distinct deformation stages emerge in response to mechanical loading and that the number and the location of ligated nucleotides can significantly modulate structural behaviors. These findings should be useful for predicting crystal properties and thus improving the design.

DNA crystal↗

DOE OSTI2026

Dynamic crushing of metal lattice metamaterials: Shock mode diagrams and transition to topology-independent compaction regime

Additively manufactured lattice metamaterials offer design versatility in strength and energy absorption and provide an additional degree of freedom through the selection of the lattice topology. Under quasistatic loading, the unit cell structure can strongly affect the stiffness, yield, and post-yield behavior, but whether and to what degree the effect of lattice topology persists into dynamic loading scenarios, up to the compaction shock regime, has not been established. LLNL’ s ALE3D hydrocode was used to perform a computational investigation of dynamic loading in multiple lattice types, including the gyroid, octet, Schwarz D, and rhombic dodecahedron, under impact velocities from 0.25 to 2.25 km/s. Shock Hugoniots for each lattice topology are generated and compared, suggesting that above a critical velocity, distinctions between architectures may not persevere and compacted lattices behave similarly. Here, to investigate the transition between topology-dependent quasistatic compression and the topology-independent regime above the critical velocity, a one-dimensional elastic-linear hardening plasticity-densified solid (E-LHP-DS) shock model for lattice materials was developed that relies upon confined compression to link the quasistatic and shock mechanics. Unlike similar works, the model does not assume rigid behavior prior to yield or locking behavior at densification, allowing a richer exploration of lattice mechanics. With only six parameters, the analytical model simultaneously fit quasistatic confined compression simulations for relative densities 0.1 $≤ \bar{ρ} ≤$ 0.9 and predicted dynamic compaction behavior to traverse several distinct shock modes, each defined by a critical impact speed (equivalently, critical stresses). Comparing the numerical results to the one-dimensional E-LHP-DS shock model predictions suggests that the topology-independence under strong shocks is linked to the onset of densification, which can be predicted based on quasistatic confined compression results.

Cellular material↗

DOE OSTI2025

A real-time distributed solid oxide electrolysis cell (SOEC) model for cyber-physical simulation

System integration and dynamic operability between SOEC and balance-of-plant (BoP) components are major technical challenges before realizing rapid load following of SOEC systems. Cyber-physical simulation (CPS) is a leading-edge digital engineering approach and is regarded as the next step beyond Digital Twins. CPS approach can be used to research SOEC system integration and develop dynamic controls prior to actual pilot testing without using a real SOEC. To seamlessly couple with BoP hardware and access non-observable operational parameters (e.g., local temperature gradient) during transients, a distributed one-dimensional (1D) real-time SOEC model was developed. Its real-time execution was demonstrated for 20 to 640 nodes at the fixed time step of 5 ms. A higher excess air ratio enabled smaller local temperature gradients on SOEC solid materials and faster transients upon current density step change from 0.15 to 0.55 A cm -2 . During the transients, the magnitude of the peak temperature gradient nearly doubled in 10 s from -3.5 to -5.9 °C cm -1 . This represents a significant operating risk that can impact the dynamic operability of SOEC systems. In addition, the local temperature gradient was found to change directions on all nodes in SOEC solid materials, with the greatest impact on the upstream nodes. The SOEC model was also tested at the thermal neutral voltage using actual process air flow parameters as variable model inputs. Variable process air temperatures were found to induce alternating local temperature gradients on SOEC solid materials. These are new operational mechanisms for SOEC degradation relevant for load following operational modes yet distinct from previous reports. To mitigate these unfavorable features, the SOEC can be operated at voltages that are slightly (±20 mV) deviated from the thermal neutral voltage. Here, the corresponding net thermal energy change was less than 1.6% of the electric power consumption. This 1D real-time SOEC model established the basis of cyber-physical simulation of SOEC hybrid systems.

24 POWER TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION↗

DOE OSTI2023

Plasticity in irradiated FeCrAl nanopillars investigated using discrete dislocation dynamics

Here, in this paper, we investigate plasticity in irradiated FeCrAl nanopillars using discrete dislocation dynamics simulations (DDD), with comparisons to transmission electron microscopic (TEM) in situ tensile tests of ion- and neutron-irradiated commercial C35M FeCrAl alloy. The effects of irradiation-induced defects, such as a/2<111> and a<100> type loops and composition fluctuations representative of phase separation in irradiated FeCrAl alloys, are investigated separately as well as superposed together in simulations. We explore the effects of defects on the stress-strain behavior, specifically yield strength and hardening response, of FeCrAl nanopillars. Our simulations confirm the widely accepted fact that irradiated alloys exhibit a stress-strain response with higher yield strength as compared to unirradiated alloys. However, our DDD calculations reveal an atypical superposition of the hardening contributions due to composition inhomogeneity and irradiation loops wherein composition inhomogeneity annihilates the hardening due to irradiation loops at small scales. As a result, we observe that the yield strength in irradiated alloys, after taking into consideration the effects of both composition inhomogeneity and irradiation loops, is smaller than the yield strength of the alloys with only irradiation loops and is approximately same for the alloy with composition inhomogeneity alone. This is referred to as “destructive interference” between the hardening contributions due to composition fluctuations and irradiation loops in the paper. We also identify this destructive interference in the superposition in our parallel TEM in situ tensile tests on unirradiated, ion-irradiated, and neutron-irradiated C35M FeCrAl alloy. This destructive interference in the hardening contributions contrasts with the dispersed barrier hardening (DBH) models widely utilized by the experimental community to model the hardening contributions due to different irradiation induced defects. The effects of the loading orientations on the yield strength and hardening are investigated and the mechanisms for the hardening in irradiated FeCrAl alloys are also reported.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

DOE OSTI2024

Understanding interfacial crystallization dynamics on carbon fiber reinforced polypropylene composite manufacturing

Reinforcing polymers with discontinuous fibers improves mechanical properties, such as strength and stiffness, and in some cases achieve isotropic properties, rendering them suitable for various engineering applications. Matrix materials are generally highly engineered thermosets (e.g. crosslinked epoxies), bonded to the fiber periphery by proprietary surface and sizing chemistries. Semicrystalline thermoplastic matrices are less utilized due to poor fiber-matrix bonding resulting in inefficient interfacial load-transfer in reinforced composites. However, flexibility with melt-processing or molding conditions can be leveraged to promote non-covalent interfacial bonding between matrix and fiber via crystallization of the matrix onto fiber surface. In the present study, we utilize a co-mingle chopped carbon and isotactic polypropylene fibers to form isotropic composites, tailoring interfacial immobilized matrix or interphase morphology to optimize performance through precise control of thermal processing/molding windows. Calorimetry and optical microscopy were employed to investigate the impact of carbon fiber at various volume fractions (10, 20, and 30 %) on isotactic polypropylene crystallization and mechanical performance. Variations in mechanical properties correspond to the structural evolution of the interfacial region and are correlated to underlying microstructural attributes using wide-angle X-ray scattering, thermal analysis, and low-field nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. These results provide a practical framework for the manufacturing of thermoplastic matrix composites. In conclusion, the results presented provide a guide for the strategic optimization of interphase design, showcasing tailorable tensile strengths which outperform any isotactic polypropylene carbon fiber composites previously reported in literature.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

DOE OSTI2023

A constitutive model for elastomers tailored by ionic bonds and entanglements

Over the past decade or two, the concept has emerged of using multiple types of weak interactions simultaneously to enhance the mechanical properties of elastomers. These weak interactions include physical entanglements, hydrogen bonds, metal-coordination bonds, dynamic covalent bonds, and ionic bonds. The combination of entanglements and ionic bonding has been minimally explored and is particularly exciting because of the broad application space for polyelectrolytes. In this work, a constitutive model framework is developed to describe the response of elastomers with both ionic bonds and entanglements. Here we formulate a micromechanical model that couples together chain stretching, ionic bond slipping, and entanglement evolution. The ionic bonds provide toughness by enabling plastic deformation in comparison to covalently crosslinked material and add strength compared to a linear polymer. Evolution of the entanglement density is taken as a key mechanism that can govern stiffness, toughness, and self-recovery in elastomers. The model is used to match bulk polyelectrolytes with different fractions of ionic components under a variety of loading histories. The variations in material parameters are then used to help understand the relative importance of different governing mechanisms in the bulk polymers. We show that the theoretical framework can explain our experimental uniaxial tensile experimental results for polyelectrolytes. This model can help to design better material with high stiffness and toughness. We expect that our model can be extended to explain the mechanical behavior of other polyelectrolytes and other soft materials with a wide range of dynamic bonds.

42 ENGINEERING↗

DOE OSTI2022

Instrumentation development and testing of a wind turbine blade for sub-scale wake studies

Wind turbine blade aerodynamics and the resulting wake flow are complex, and wind tunnel testing of these flows can provide critical insight. The data from such tests are also valuable for validation of numerical models. For experiments using sub-scale turbines to be useful, the blade aerodynamics and wakes must exhibit the important features observed in utility-scale turbine flows. In this work, ~1 m blades designed to produce physics relevant to larger scale turbines were manufactured and affixed to an existing turbine. One of the blades was instrumented for blade surface pressure measurements. Time-dependent surface pressure measurements coupled with instantaneous measurements of the inflow with Cobra probes and the wake with particle image velocimetry allowed for characterization of the inflow, blade flow, and near wake. The results demonstrate that the instrumentation was effective in characterizing the blade loading and the flow field. For the one test case discussed in this paper, the measurements of inflow, blade loading, and wake properties facilitate understanding of the wake's behavior.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗

DOE OSTI2022

Effect of grain dissolution on sloping ground

The static and dynamic stability of natural or constructed slopes can be affected by dissolution or dissolution-like phenomena. Their underlying mechanisms, however, remain unclear. New experimental results and discrete element simulations provide particle-level and macroscale information on the consequences of mineral dissolution on slope behavior. At the microscale, load-carrying grain arches develop around dissolving particles, the porosity increases, and contact force chains evolve to form a honeycomb topology. At the macroscale, while vertical settlements are the prevailing deformation pattern, lateral granular movements that create mass wasting are prominent in sloping ground, even under the quasi-static granular loss. Horizontal grain displacement is maximum at the surface and decreases linearly with the distance from the slope surface to become zero at the bottom boundaries, much like vertical granular displacement along the depth. Sediments with smaller friction angles and steeper slopes experience greater displacement, both vertically and horizontally. Slopes become flatter after dissolution, with the reduction in slope angle directly related to the loss in ground elevation, ΔH/H o . Yet, because of the porous fabric that results from dissolution, vertical shortening is less than the upper bound, estimated from the loss in the solid mass fraction, ΔH/H o ≈SF. Under water-saturated conditions, the post-dissolution fabric may lead to sudden undrained shear and slope slide.

42 ENGINEERING↗

DOE OSTI2022

Acoustic force spectroscopy reveals subtle differences in cellulose unbinding behavior of carbohydrate-binding modules

Protein adsorption to solid carbohydrate interfaces is critical to many biological processes, particularly in biomass deconstruction. To engineer more-efficient enzymes for biomass deconstruction into sugars, it is necessary to characterize the complex protein–carbohydrate interfacial interactions. A carbohydrate-binding module (CBM) is often associated with microbial surface-tethered cellulosomes or secreted cellulase enzymes to enhance substrate accessibility. However, it is not well known how CBMs recognize, bind, and dissociate from polysaccharides to facilitate efficient cellulolytic activity, due to the lack of mechanistic understanding and a suitable toolkit to study CBM–substrate interactions. Our work outlines a general approach to study the unbinding behavior of CBMs from polysaccharide surfaces using a highly multiplexed single-molecule force spectroscopy assay. Here, we apply acoustic force spectroscopy (AFS) to probe a Clostridium thermocellum cellulosomal scaffoldin protein (CBM3a) and measure its dissociation from nanocellulose surfaces at physiologically relevant, low force loading rates. An automated microfluidic setup and method for uniform deposition of insoluble polysaccharides on the AFS chip surfaces are demonstrated. The rupture forces of wild-type CBM3a, and its Y67A mutant, unbinding from nanocellulose surfaces suggests distinct multimodal CBM binding conformations, with structural mechanisms further explored using molecular dynamics simulations. Applying classical dynamic force spectroscopy theory, the single-molecule unbinding rate at zero force is extrapolated and found to agree with bulk equilibrium unbinding rates estimated independently using quartz crystal microbalance with dissipation monitoring. However, our results also highlight critical limitations of applying classical theory to explain the highly multivalent binding interactions for cellulose–CBM bond rupture forces exceeding 15 pN.

09 BIOMASS FUELS↗

DOE OSTI2021

Elucidating the Onset of Plasticity in Sliding Contacts Using Differential Computational Orientation Tomography

Abstract Depending on the mechanical and thermal energy introduced to a dry sliding interface, the near-surface regions of the mated bodies may undergo plastic deformation. In this work, we use large-scale molecular dynamics simulations to generate “differential computational orientation tomographs” (dCOT) and thus highlight changes to the microstructure near tribological FCC alloy surfaces, allowing us to detect subtle differences in lattice orientation and small distances in grain boundary migration. The analysis approach compares computationally generated orientation tomographs with their undeformed counterparts via a simple image analysis filter. We use our visualization method to discuss the acting microstructural mechanisms in a load- and time-resolved fashion, focusing on sliding conditions that lead to twinning, partial lattice rotation, and grain boundary-dominated processes. Extracting and laterally averaging the color saturation value of the generated tomographs allows us to produce quantitative time- and depth-resolved maps that give a good overview of the progress and severity of near-surface deformation. Corresponding maps of the lateral standard deviation in the color saturation show evidence of homogenization processes occurring in the tribologically loaded microstructure, frequently leading to the formation of a well-defined separation between deformed and undeformed regions. When integrated into a computational materials engineering framework, our approach could help optimize material design for tribological and other deformation problems. Graphic Abstract .

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

DOE OSTI2024

Shock-induced twinning/detwinning and spall failure in Cu–Ta nanolaminates at atomic scales

Here, this study provides new insights into the role of interfaces on the deformation and failure mechanisms in shock-loaded Cu–Ta–Cu trilayer system. The thickness of the Ta layer, piston velocities, and shock pulse durations were varied to explore the impact of impedance mismatch and loading conditions on spallation behavior and twin formation. It was found that the interfaces play a crucial role in the dynamic response of these multilayered systems since secondary reflection waves generated at the interfaces significantly affected the peak stress and pressure profiles, influencing void nucleation and failure modes. In the trilayer systems, failure predominantly occurred at interfaces and within the Ta layer, with void nucleation sites and twinning behavior being markedly different compared to single-crystal Cu and Ta. Increasing the Ta layer thickness modified the wave interactions, leading to different failure locations. Higher piston velocities were associated with increased spall strength by enhancing wave interactions and void formation, particularly at the interfaces and within the Ta layer, under specific configurations. Additionally, shorter shock pulse durations facilitated earlier initiation of the release fan, reducing twin formation and altering the failure dynamics by accelerating twin annihilation and pressure release.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

DOE OSTI2021

Modeling Environmental Effects on Ventilated Spent Fuel Storage Systems

This report describes newly developed external environment wind effects models of spent nuclear fuel (SNF) dry storage systems. The primary purpose of these wind effects models is to better understand particle deposition on SNF canisters in the context of chloride-induced stress corrosion cracking. The goal of this effort is to further the understanding and improve the wind effects model of the Nuclear Horizontal Modular Storage (NUHOMS ® ) Advanced Horizontal Storage Module–High Seismic (AHSM-HS) storage system in support of the planned Canister Deposition Field Demonstration (CDFD) project (Durbin et al. 2021, Suffield et al. 2021). The steps in this wind effects investigation begin with a validation case of comparing experimental data with a STAR-CCM+ computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model of the Belowground Vertical Dry Cask Simulator (BVDCS) with the external environment explicitly modeled. Next, a test case is performed with the AHSM-HS models comparing solar-loading strategies for a standalone and wind effects model in STAR-CCM+ and a standalone model in ANSYS Mechanical Parametric Design Language (APDL). The final portion of this study compares results of the validation exercise with applications of wind effects models for two horizontal storage systems, a site specific NUHOMS ® horizontal storage module and a NUHOMS ® AHSM-HS.

11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS↗

DOE OSTI2026

Bridging Cloud and Edge Computing at NREL Using CONNECT: Cloud Optimized Networking for Next-Gen Edge Computing Technologies [Slides]

CONNECT is an innovative on-premise hardware and software solution that integrates edge and cloud computing infrastructure at NREL. Built on the AWS Greengrass middleware and leveraging the MQTT protocol, CONNECT enables real-time data streaming from IoT devices and gateways to both cloud and local services, empowering researchers to rapidly capture, analyze, and act upon edge-generated data while leveraging cloud capabilities. The platform addresses research infrastructure challenges by providing a pre-approved platform which is already configured with the correct networking and cybersecurity baselines thus eliminating procurement delays and enabling on-demand availability. CONNECT's hybrid architecture efficiently manages burstable workloads, allowing research teams to dynamically scale computational capacity, handle peak data loads, and reduce operational bottlenecks. Advanced capabilities include built-in GPU support for executing machine learning models which enables low-latency inference at the edge from models trained in the cloud. This architecture supports real-time analytics and filtering, providing a mechanism to allow only transmitting and processing high-value data. Cloud-based configuration management permits engineers to manage on-premise systems remotely, optimizing operational efficiency. By bridging edge and cloud computing, CONNECT provides NREL researchers with a flexible, scalable platform that accelerates scientific discovery while maintaining robust security and performance standards.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗