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At least 271 records · Page 15

ExEP Yield Modeling Tool and Validation Test Results

EXOSIMS is an open-source simulation tool for parametric modeling of the detection yield and characterization of exoplanets. EXOSIMS has been adopted by the Exoplanet Exploration Programs Standards De nition and Evaluation Team (ExSDET) as a common mechanism for comparison of exoplanet mission concept studies. To ensure trustworthiness of the tool, we developed a validation test plan that leverages the Python-language unit-test framework, utilizes integration tests for selected module interactions, and performs end-to-end cross- validation with other yield tools. This paper presents the test methods and results, with the physics-based tests such as photometry and integration time calculation treated in detail and the functional tests treated summarily. The test case utilized a 4m unobscured telescope with an idealized coronagraph and an exoplanet population from the IPAC radial velocity (RV) exoplanet catalog. The known RV planets were set at quadrature to allow deterministic validation of the calculation of physical parameters, such as working angle, photon counts and integration time. The observing keepout region was tested by generating plots and movies of the targets and the keepout zone over a year. Although the keepout integration test required the interpretation of a user, the test revealed problems in the L2 halo orbit and the parameterization of keepout applied to some solar system bodies, which the development team was able to address. The validation testing of EXOSIMS was performed iteratively with the developers of EXOSIMS and resulted in a more robust, stable, and trustworthy tool that the exoplanet community can use to simulate exoplanet direct-detection missions from probe class, to WFIRST, up to large mission concepts such as HabEx and LUVOIR.

Nunez, Paul↗

Gated CDS Integrator

A Gated CDS Integrator (GCI) may amplify low-level signals without introducing excessive offset and noise. The GCI may also amplify the low level signals with accurate and variable gain. The GCI may include a modulator preceding an amplifier such that offset or noise present in a signal path between the modulator and a demodulator input is translated to a higher out of band frequency, and thereafter reduced by a double sampled discrete time integrator which also reduces thermal noise. The thermal noise may also be reduced by averaging the output of the discrete time integrator.

Quilligan, Gerard T.↗

Long-Time Numerical Integration of the Three-Dimensional Wave Equation in the Vicinity of a Moving Source

We propose a family of algorithms for solving numerically a Cauchy problem for the three-dimensional wave equation. The sources that drive the equation (i.e., the right-hand side) are compactly supported in space for any given time; they, however, may actually move in space with a subsonic speed. The solution is calculated inside a finite domain (e.g., sphere) that also moves with a subsonic speed and always contains the support of the right-hand side. The algorithms employ a standard consistent and stable explicit finite-difference scheme for the wave equation. They allow one to calculate tile solution for arbitrarily long time intervals without error accumulation and with the fixed non-growing amount of tile CPU time and memory required for advancing one time step. The algorithms are inherently three-dimensional; they rely on the presence of lacunae in the solutions of the wave equation in oddly dimensional spaces. The methodology presented in the paper is, in fact, a building block for constructing the nonlocal highly accurate unsteady artificial boundary conditions to be used for the numerical simulation of waves propagating with finite speed over unbounded domains.

Ryabenkii, V. S.↗

Noise analysis of spaceborne IR spatial interferometer

Analysis is performed to determine the relationship between the signal-to-noise ratio and the integration time for a spaceborne IR heterodyne spatial interferometer. The analysis includes consideration of the transformation of the interferogram to obtain the angular intensity distribution. The results presented show that for an IR source such as IRC + 10216, an integration time of 50 seconds per interferogram point will yield a signal-to-noise ratio greater than 10 dB in the angular intensity profile obtained from a 30-point transformation.

Wolfe, R. H., Jr.↗

Current Sheet Formation in a Conical Theta Pinch Faraday Accelerator with Radio-frequency Assisted Discharge

Data from an inductive conical theta pinch accelerator are presented to gain insight into the process of inductive current sheet formation in the presence of a preionized background gas produced by a steady-state RF-discharge. The presence of a preionized plasma has been previously shown to allow for current sheet formation at lower discharge voltages and energies than those found in other pulsed inductive accelerator concepts, leading to greater accelerator efficiencies at lower power levels. Time-resolved magnetic probe measurements are obtained for different background pressures and pulse energies to characterize the effects of these parameters on current sheet formation. Indices are defined that describe time-resolved current sheet characteristics, such as the total current owing in the current sheet, the time-integrated total current ('strength'), and current sheet velocity. It is found that for a given electric field strength, maximums in total current, strength, and velocity occur for one particular background pressure. At other pressures, these current sheet indices are considerably smaller. The trends observed in these indices are explained in terms of the principles behind Townsend breakdown that lead to a dependence on the ratio of the electric field to the background pressure. Time-integrated photographic data are also obtained at the same experimental conditions, and qualitatively they compare quite favorably with the time-resolved magnetic field data.

Polzin, Kurt A.↗

Development of an implicit electromagnetic capability for a hybrid gyrokinetic ion-fluid electron model

Here we report on the development and implementation of a hybrid kinetic ion–fluid electron model for electromagnetic COGENT simulations of edge plasmas. COGENT is a finite-volume gyrokinetic code that employs a locally field-aligned coordinate system combined with a mapped multi-block grid technology to handle strongly anisotropic edge plasma turbulence. The simulation model involves the long-wavelength limit of the ion gyrokinetic equation coupled to the vorticity and Ohm's law equations for the electromagnetic field perturbations. In order to handle the fast Alfvén wave time scales, an implicit-explicit time integration approach with a physics-based preconditioner is used. The model is successfully applied to the simulations of ion-scale resistive-drift ballooning turbulence in a toroidal annulus geometry. Substantial speed-up over a fully explicit time integration approach is observed.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗

Optimization of the Second Target Station cold source moderators using an automated workflow

The Second Target Station (STS) at the US Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory is designed to become the world’s highest peak-brightness spallation source of cold neutrons. Successful completion of the STS, which is currently in the preliminary design phase, will provide transformative new capabilities to examine novel materials for future technologies. At STS, neutrons will be generated by spallation reactions in a solid tungsten target. They will be moderated and thermalized in two cold (20 K) para-hydrogen moderators. Careful optimization of these moderators is essential to the project’s success. To find optimal moderator designs, an advanced optimization workflow integrates high-fidelity neutronics calculations using the Monte Carlo N-Particle (MCNP) transport code MCNP6.2 with state-of-the-art optimization algorithms in the Dakota optimization toolkit. For each design iteration, a parametrized solid CAD geometry is generated in Creo and automatically converted into an unstructured mesh geometry by Attila 4MC for the neutronics calculation with MCNP. Iterations repeat until optimal designs are found. Herein this paper presents the results of a sensitivity and optimization study for the cylindrical and tube moderators. Both moderators can be optimized for maximum peak brightness, maximum time-integrated brightness, or any combination between these extremes. Maximum peak brightness is achieved by using smaller optimal dimensions of the moderators, whereas maximum time-integrated brightness is achieved by using larger dimensions. A Pareto front details the designs that optimally balance both brightness metrics. The Pareto front can be found in only 40–110 iterations with 4–5 design parameters when using the efficient global and Pareto-set optimization algorithms in Dakota. Additionally, important engineering constraints can be taken into account, such as the coupling between the cylindrical moderator radius and aluminum vessel wall thicknesses required to ensure structural integrity of the vessels. This interaction has a significant impact on the resulting optimal designs. Our new, highly efficient, fully automated optimization workflow will be used to optimize additional STS components in the future and can be adopted for design and optimization studies at other experimental neutron and accelerator facilities.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗

U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Enabling Extreme Real-Time Grid Integration of Solar Energy (ENERGISE) Project: Multiday and Intraday Energy Availability Product [Slides]

This presentation will provide an overview of the development of a Multi-Day Energy Availability Product under the DOE ENERGISE project, conducted in collaboration with Southwest Power Pool (SPP), the National Laboratory of the Rockies, Polaris, and the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI). Existing market clearing processes are limited to day-ahead and real-time horizons, which may result in insufficient pricing signals and compensation for resource availability over multi-day timeframes (e.g., incentives for fuel procurement and energy-limited resource preparedness). This effort aims to develop a new market product and associated clearing process to value and procure resource energy availability over a multi-day horizon. The team will present progress to date and solicit advisory group feedback on proposed methodologies and preliminary findings.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗

A New Approach for a Wider Class of Entropy Split Methods for Compressible Gas Dynamics and MHD

The high order entropy split methods of Sjögreen & Yee [1, 2] by entropy splitting of the compressible Euler (inviscid) flux derivatives for a thermally-perfect gas are based on Harten’s entropy function [3, 4, 5]. Their derivation takes advantage of the homogeneity property of Euler flux, symmetrizable Euler flux derivatives and energy-norm stability in conjunction with high order classical spatial central, DRP (dispersion relation-preserving) [6, 7, 8] or Padé (compact) spatial discretizations [9] with summation-by-parts (SBP) operators [10]. Our entropy split methods have been proven entropy conserving and stable [1, 11, 12]. Our proofs do not rely on a two-point numerical flux, but rather only a linear difference operator is required to derive these methods. To extend the entropy split method for the MHD, we used the Godunov symmetrizable non-conservative MHD form [12, 13, 14]. These high order entropy split methods not only preserve certain physical properties of the chosen governing equations but are also known to either improve numerical stability, and/or minimize aliasing errors in long time integration of turbulent flow computations without the aid of added numerical dissipation. In our previous published work, extensive error norm comparison with grid refinement was performed to show the high accuracy performance of these methods. These studies also showed how well the entropy split methods conserve the entropy, momentum and mass, and preserve the kinetic energy for long time integration of the various flows [1, 2, 12, 13, 14]. The objective of the present work is to use a new approach to obtain a wider class of entropy split methods consisting of a two-point numerical flux portion and a non-conservative portion in such a way that the homogeneity property of the compressible Euler flux is not required. For high order classical spatial central, DRP (dispersion relation-preserving) or Padé (compact) spatial discretizations, this new approach can be proven to be entropy conservative with conservative spatial dsicretizations while at the same time allowing a wider class of symmetrizable inviscid flux derivatives. We also use this generalization to derive an entropy split scheme that is entropy conserving for the equations of MHD without the homogeneity property using the Godunov symmetrizable ideal MHD formulation [15].

High Order Physical Preserving Methods↗

Learning in Modal Space: Solving Time-Dependent Stochastic PDEs Using Physics-Informed Neural Networks

One of the open problems in scientific computing is the long-time integration of nonlinear stochastic partial differential equations (SPDEs), especially with arbitrary initial data. We address this problem by taking advantage of recent advances in scientific machine learning and the spectral dynamically orthogonal (DO) and borthogonal (BO) methods for representing stochastic processes. The recently introduced DO/BO methods reduce the SPDE to solving a system of deterministic PDEs and a system of stochastic ordinary differential equations. Specifically, we propose two new physics-informed neural networks (PINNs) for solving time-dependent SPDEs, namely the neural network (NN)-DO/BO methods. The proposed methods incorporate the DO/BO constraints into the loss function (along with the modal decomposition of the SPDE) with an implicit form instead of generating explicit expressions for the temporal derivatives of the DO/BO modes. Hence, the NN-DO/BO methods can overcome some of the drawbacks of the original DO/BO methods. For example, we do not need the assumption that the covariance matrix of the random coefficients is invertible as in the original DO method, and we can remove the assumption of no eigenvalue crossing as in the original BO method. Moreover, the NN-DO/BO methods can be used to solve time-dependent stochastic inverse problems with the same formulation and same computational complexity as for forward problems. Furthermore, we demonstrate the capability of the proposed methods via several numerical examples, namely: (1) A linear stochastic advection equation with deterministic initial condition: we obtain good results with the proposed methods, while the original DO/BO methods cannot be applied directly in this case. (2) Long-time integration of the stochastic Burgers' equation: we show the good performance of NN-DO/BO methods, especially the effectiveness of the NN-BO approach for such problems with many eigenvalue crossings during the whole time evolution, while the original BO method fails. (3) Nonlinear reaction diffusion equation: we consider both the forward problem and the inverse problems, including very noisy initial point values, to investigate the flexibility of the NN-DO/BO methods in handling inverse and mixed type problems. Taken together, these simulation results demonstrate that the NN-DO/BO methods can be employed to effectively quantify uncertainty propagation in a wide range of physical problems, but future work should address the efficiency issue of PINNs for forward problems.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗

A custom high-stability pulse generator for the test of a novel in-situ magnetic sensor developed to detect radiation damage in undulators

High-performance analog-to-digital converters (ADC) have been widely applied in many areas of science. For instance, magnetic field measurements based on the Faraday’s induction law require high-precision voltmeters to measure induced voltages. In this study in the context of free-electron lasers technology, the Magnetic Measurements Team at SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory proposed a novel in-situ radiation damage detection system (RDDS) for detecting small field variations in undulators. The system measures the flux change in a flexible printed-circuit coil attached to the magnet array during the undulator gap movement. The gap movement changes the magnetic field, which induces a voltage signal in the coil that is measured and integrated with an ADC. Although the system is capable of detecting relative flux changes better than 100 ppm, drift in the ADC’s gain or offset can cause apparent changes in the relative flux. This paper describes the first attempt to developed a high-precision verification circuit to perform ADC testing in the framework of the novel RDDS. The circuit generates a reference voltage pulse with a voltage–time integral relative precision better than 50 ppm for a few hundreds of mVs — the typical order of magnitude measured with the RDDS. The circuit’s design combines a fast and precise switch with a low-noise voltage reference. Long-term measurements allowed statistical analysis and showed that averaging the voltage–time integral of ten pulses gives the required 50 ppm stability. Moreover, reproducibility tests confirmed that the circuit’s output is invariable under small power supply instabilities and equipment shutdown. Instruments and applications designed to quantify the magnetic field by integrating voltage signals may use the pulse generator proposed in this paper for verification purposes.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗

An interactive adaptive remeshing algorithm for the two-dimensional Euler equations

An interactive adaptive remeshing algorithm utilizing a frontal grid generator and a variety of time integration schemes for the two-dimensional Euler equations on unstructured meshes is presented. Several device dependent interactive graphics interfaces have been developed along with a device independent DI-3000 interface which can be employed on any computer that has the supporting software including the Cray-2 supercomputers Voyager and Navier. The time integration methods available include: an explicit four stage Runge-Kutta and a fully implicit LU decomposition. A cell-centered finite volume upwind scheme utilizing Roe's approximate Riemann solver is developed. To obtain higher order accurate results a monotone linear reconstruction procedure proposed by Barth is utilized. Results for flow over a transonic circular arc and flow through a supersonic nozzle are examined.

Slack, David C.↗

Entropy Splitting and Numerical Dissipation

A rigorous stability estimate for arbitrary order of accuracy of spatial central difference schemes for initial-boundary value problems of nonlinear symmetrizable systems of hyperbolic conservation laws was established recently by Olsson and Oliger (1994) and Olsson (1995) and was applied to the two-dimensional compressible Euler equations for a perfect gas by Gerritsen and Olsson (1996) and Gerritsen (1996). The basic building block in developing the stability estimate is a generalized energy approach based on a special splitting of the flux derivative via a convex entropy function and certain homogeneous properties. Due to some of the unique properties of the compressible Euler equations for a perfect gas, the splitting resulted in the sum of a conservative portion and a non-conservative portion of the flux derivative. hereafter referred to as the "Entropy Splitting." There are several potential desirable attributes and side benefits of the entropy splitting for the compressible Euler equations that were not fully explored in Gerritsen and Olsson. The paper has several objectives. The first is to investigate the choice of the arbitrary parameter that determines the amount of splitting and its dependence on the type of physics of current interest to computational fluid dynamics. The second is to investigate in what manner the splitting affects the nonlinear stability of the central schemes for long time integrations of unsteady flows such as in nonlinear aeroacoustics and turbulence dynamics. If numerical dissipation indeed is needed to stabilize the central scheme, can the splitting help minimize the numerical dissipation compared to its un-split cousin? Extensive numerical study on the vortex preservation capability of the splitting in conjunction with central schemes for long time integrations will be presented. The third is to study the effect of the non-conservative proportion of splitting in obtaining the correct shock location for high speed complex shock-turbulence interactions. The fourth is to determine if this method can be extended to other physical equations of state and other evolutionary equation sets. If numerical dissipation is needed, the Yee, Sandham, and Djomehri (1999) numerical dissipation is employed. The Yee et al. schemes fit in the Olsson and Oliger framework.

Yee, H. C.↗

Faraday detector uranium isotope ratio measurement: Insights from solution- and laser ablation-based sampling methodologies on the Neoma MC-ICP-MS

In this study we utilize an all-faraday cup detector configuration on the Neoma MC-ICP-MS to perform uranium isotope ratio determinations from certified reference materials and a nuclear fuel precursor material via solution and laser ablation based sampling methodologies. The goal in performing these measurements is primarily to demonstrate that the all-faraday cup method can produce highly precise and accurate isotope ratios even at relatively low signal intensity levels while also developing a preliminary understanding of how the complex interplay between different amplifier resistor levels (e.g. 10 11 vs 10 13 Ω) and integration times impacts the precision and accuracy of different types of measurements. Our results show that the faraday cups with 1013 Ω resistors in their amplifier feedback loops can be used to produce accurate and relatively precise isotope ratios for ion beams down to ~5 K cps. However, at the lower end of the signal intensities observed in this study, longer integration times are necessary to mitigate the impact of ion beam instability that can occur during laser ablation based sampling. Despite this potential limitation, the all-faraday cup method is highly versatile as exemplified by the analysis of a collection of uranium reference materials with highly variable uranium isotopic compositions.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗

A simulation of synthetic aperture radar imaging of ocean waves

A simulation of radar imaging of ocean waves with synthetic aperture techniques is presented. The modelling is simplistic from the oceanographic and electromagnetic viewpoint in order to minimize the computational problems, yet reveal some of the physical problems associated with the imaging of moving ocean waves. The model assumes: (1) The radar illuminates a one-dimensional, one harmonic ocean wave. (2) The scattering is assumed to be governed by geometrical optics. (3) The radar is assumed to be down-looking, with Doppler processing (range processing is suppressed due to the one-dimensional nature of the problem). (4) The beamwidth of the antenna (or integration time) is assumed to be sufficiently narrow to restrict the specular points of the peaks and troughs of the wave. The results show that conventional processing of the image gives familiar results if the ocean waves are stationary. When the ocean wave dispersion relationship is satisfied, the image is smeared due to the motion of the specular points over the integration time. In effect, the image of the ocean is transferred to the near field of the synthetic aperture.

Swift, C. T.↗

On the possibility of Earth reentry simulation of shallow angle Jupiter entry

Possible Earth reentry simulation of shallow-angle (3 to 30 deg) Jupiter entry was investigated in terms of four parameters of the bow shock layer ahead of a blunt vehicle: peak (equilibrium) temperature, peak pressure, peak inward radiative flux, and time-integrated radiative flux. It is shown that simulation ranging from fair to good can be achieved. Reentry is easiest (lowest Earth reentry speed) at steep Earth reentry, in the Earth entry speed range of 15 to 22 km/sec, for both the Jupiter nominal and cool atmospheres. Increased Earth speed is required, generally, for increasing Jupiter entry angle, and for increasing temperature, radiative flux, time-integrated flux and pressure, in that order.

Mcronald, A. D.↗

Algorithms of pulse shape analysis for Gammasphere under high count rate conditions

The implementation of digital electronics for the multi-detector Gammasphere array has provided an opportunity to perform experiments which exceed the technical capabilities of its analog counterpart. The pulse shape analysis of HPGe detectors is presented for the purpose of determining the γ-ray energy under high-counting rates and short integration times with the aim of improving the data throughput. A revised trapezoidal algorithm is delineated which is able to determine the γ-ray energies during the offline analysis without being constrained by predetermined parameters. The performance of this algorithm is discussed, and compared with that of the analog system. The measured energy resolution meets expectations for operations with high-counting rates and short integration times.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗

DACOM - A rapid, high sensitivity airborne carbon monoxide monitor

A rapid, high sensitivity differential absorption carbon monoxide monitor (DACOM) has been developed to measure CO from an aircraft. The differential absorption measurement is accomplished by rapidly current tuning the wavelength of a PbSSe diode laser across a single 4.7 micron CO absorption line. As the laser wavelength sweeps periodically across the absorption line, the laser beam is amplitude modulated and is then synchronously detected. With this technique a minimum detectable differential transmission of 0.02% is obtained for a 1 second integration time. This performance is equivalent to a CO sensitivity of 5 ppb for a 10 meter absorption path. The techniques used to achieve this high sensitivity will be discussed. In the aircraft installation a 10 meter absorption path is located in the airstream along the fuselage of a C-54 aircraft. During flight tests of DACOM, a sensitivity of 20 ppb for a 1-second integration time has been achieved.

Sachse, G. W.↗