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Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

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At least 325 records · Page 18

All sources NASA NTRS DOE OSTI

DOE OSTI2020

Atomic resolution convergent beam electron diffraction analysis using convolutional neural networks

Two types of convolutional neural network (CNN) models, a discrete classification network and a continuous regression network, were trained to determine local sample thickness from convergent beam diffraction (CBED) patterns of SrTiO 3 collected in a scanning transmission electron microscope (STEM) at atomic column resolution. Acquisition of atomic resolution CBED patterns for this purpose requires careful balancing of CBED feature size in pixels, acquisition speed, and detector dynamic range. The training datasets were derived from multislice simulations, which must be convolved with incoherent source broadening. Sample thicknesses were also determined using quantitative high-angle annular dark-field (HAADF) STEM images acquired simultaneously. The regression CNN performed well on sample thinner than 35 nm, with 70% of the CNN results within 1 nm of HAADF thickness, and 1.0 nm overall root mean square error between the two measurements. The classification CNN was trained for a thicknesses up to 100 nm and yielded 66% of CNN results within one classification increment of 2 nm of HAADF thickness. Our approach depends on methods from computer vision including transfer learning and image augmentation.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

NASA NTRS1992

Decision boundary feature extraction for neural networks

We propose a new feature extraction method for neural networks. The method is based on the recently published decision boundary feature extraction algorithm. It has been shown that all the necessary features for classification can be extracted from the decision boundary. To apply the decision boundary feature extraction method, we first define the decision boundary in neural networks. Next, we propose a procedure for extracting all the necessary features for classification from the decision boundary. The proposed algorithm preserves the characteristics of neural networks, which can define arbitrary decision boundary. Experiments show promising results.

Lee, Chulhee↗

DOE OSTI2021

Train Like a (Var)Pro: Efficient Training of Neural Networks with Variable Projection

Deep neural networks (DNNs) have achieved state-of-the-art performance across a variety of traditional machine learning tasks, e.g., speech recognition, image classification, and segmentation. The ability of DNNs to efficiently approximate high-dimensional functions has also motivated their use in scientific applications, e.g., to solve partial differential equations and to generate surrogate models. In this paper, we consider the supervised training of DNNs, which arises in many of the above applications. We focus on the central problem of optimizing the weights of the given DNN such that it accurately approximates the relation between observed input and target data. Devising effective solvers for this optimization problem is notoriously challenging due to the large number of weights, nonconvexity, data sparsity, and nontrivial choice of hyperparameters. To solve the optimization problem more efficiently, we propose the use of variable projection (VarPro), a method originally designed for separable nonlinear least-squares problems. Our main contribution is the Gauss--Newton VarPro method (GNvpro) that extends the reach of the VarPro idea to nonquadratic objective functions, most notably cross-entropy loss functions arising in classification. These extensions make GNvpro applicable to all training problems that involve a DNN whose last layer is an affine mapping, which is common in many state-of-the-art architectures. In our four numerical experiments from surrogate modeling, segmentation, and classification, GNvpro solves the optimization problem more efficiently than commonly used stochastic gradient descent (SGD) schemes. Finally, GNvpro finds solutions that generalize well, and in all but one example better than well-tuned SGD methods, to unseen data points.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗

NASA NTRS1999

Predicting Slag Generation in Sub-Scale Test Motors Using a Neural Network

Generation of slag (aluminum oxide) is an important issue for the Reusable Solid Rocket Motor (RSRM). Thiokol performed testing to quantify the relationship between raw material variations and slag generation in solid propellants by testing sub-scale motors cast with propellant containing various combinations of aluminum fuel and ammonium perchlorate (AP) oxidizer particle sizes. The test data were analyzed using statistical methods and an artificial neural network. This paper primarily addresses the neural network results with some comparisons to the statistical results. The neural network showed that the particle sizes of both the aluminum and unground AP have a measurable effect on slag generation. The neural network analysis showed that aluminum particle size is the dominant driver in slag generation, about 40% more influential than AP. The network predictions of the amount of slag produced during firing of sub-scale motors were 16% better than the predictions of a statistically derived empirical equation. Another neural network successfully characterized the slag generated during full-scale motor tests. The success is attributable to the ability of neural networks to characterize multiple complex factors including interactions that affect slag generation.

Wiesenberg, Brent↗

NASA NTRS2004

Subsonic Aircraft With Regression and Neural-Network Approximators Designed

At the NASA Glenn Research Center, NASA Langley Research Center's Flight Optimization System (FLOPS) and the design optimization testbed COMETBOARDS with regression and neural-network-analysis approximators have been coupled to obtain a preliminary aircraft design methodology. For a subsonic aircraft, the optimal design, that is the airframe-engine combination, is obtained by the simulation. The aircraft is powered by two high-bypass-ratio engines with a nominal thrust of about 35,000 lbf. It is to carry 150 passengers at a cruise speed of Mach 0.8 over a range of 3000 n mi and to operate on a 6000-ft runway. The aircraft design utilized a neural network and a regression-approximations-based analysis tool, along with a multioptimizer cascade algorithm that uses sequential linear programming, sequential quadratic programming, the method of feasible directions, and then sequential quadratic programming again. Optimal aircraft weight versus the number of design iterations is shown. The central processing unit (CPU) time to solution is given. It is shown that the regression-method-based analyzer exhibited a smoother convergence pattern than the FLOPS code. The optimum weight obtained by the approximation technique and the FLOPS code differed by 1.3 percent. Prediction by the approximation technique exhibited no error for the aircraft wing area and turbine entry temperature, whereas it was within 2 percent for most other parameters. Cascade strategy was required by FLOPS as well as the approximators. The regression method had a tendency to hug the data points, whereas the neural network exhibited a propensity to follow a mean path. The performance of the neural network and regression methods was considered adequate. It was at about the same level for small, standard, and large models with redundancy ratios (defined as the number of input-output pairs to the number of unknown coefficients) of 14, 28, and 57, respectively. In an SGI octane workstation (Silicon Graphics, Inc., Mountainview, CA), the regression training required a fraction of a CPU second, whereas neural network training was between 1 and 9 min, as given. For a single analysis cycle, the 3-sec CPU time required by the FLOPS code was reduced to milliseconds by the approximators. For design calculations, the time with the FLOPS code was 34 min. It was reduced to 2 sec with the regression method and to 4 min by the neural network technique. The performance of the regression and neural network methods was found to be satisfactory for the analysis and design optimization of the subsonic aircraft.

Patnaik, Surya N.↗

DOE OSTI2021

The predictive skill of convolutional neural networks models for disease forecasting

In this paper we investigate the utility of one-dimensional convolutional neural network (CNN) models in epidemiological forecasting. Deep learning models, in particular variants of recurrent neural networks (RNNs) have been studied for ILI (Influenza-Like Illness) forecasting, and have achieved a higher forecasting skill compared to conventional models such as ARIMA. In this study, we adapt two neural networks that employ one-dimensional temporal convolutional layers as a primary building block—temporal convolutional networks and simple neural attentive meta-learners—for epidemiological forecasting. We then test them with influenza data from the US collected over 2010-2019. We find that epidemiological forecasting with CNNs is feasible, and their forecasting skill is comparable to, and at times, superior to, plain RNNs. Thus CNNs and RNNs bring the power of nonlinear transformations to purely data-driven epidemiological models, a capability that heretofore has been limited to more elaborate mechanistic/compartmental disease models.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗

DOE OSTI2024

Overview of RFID Applications Utilizing Neural Networks

As Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) methods continue to evolve to higher levels of complexity, one form of machine learning is making its appearance. The use of Neural Networks (NN) in the RFID field is steadily increasing, and in the fields of localization and activity recognition, promising results are being shown from a variety of research. RFID applications fall primarily under two types of problems including regression and classification. We analyze RIFD localization techniques which fall under regression, and activity recognition which falls under classification. Many works don’t classify themselves as activity recognition methods, but because they fall under the classification category, we still consider them as activity recognition techniques. This research overviews the Neural Network models in the localization field based on whether they can perform independently of the environment in which they were tested. For activity recognition and accessory fields, the major methods involve tag-based and tag-free approaches. In conclusion, after the models are surveyed, a comparison study is given to examine what may be the cause for increased accuracy between different Neural Network models.

42 ENGINEERING↗

NASA NTRS1995

Reducing neural network training time with parallel processing

Obtaining optimal solutions for engineering design problems is often expensive because the process typically requires numerous iterations involving analysis and optimization programs. Previous research has shown that a near optimum solution can be obtained in less time by simulating a slow, expensive analysis with a fast, inexpensive neural network. A new approach has been developed to further reduce this time. This approach decomposes a large neural network into many smaller neural networks that can be trained in parallel. Guidelines are developed to avoid some of the pitfalls when training smaller neural networks in parallel. These guidelines allow the engineer: to determine the number of nodes on the hidden layer of the smaller neural networks; to choose the initial training weights; and to select a network configuration that will capture the interactions among the smaller neural networks. This paper presents results describing how these guidelines are developed.

Rogers, James L., Jr.↗

NASA NTRS1990

Artificial neural network classification using a minimal training set - Comparison to conventional supervised classification

Recent research has shown an artificial neural network (ANN) to be capable of pattern recognition and the classification of image data. This paper examines the potential for the application of neural network computing to satellite image processing. A second objective is to provide a preliminary comparison and ANN classification. An artificial neural network can be trained to do land-cover classification of satellite imagery using selected sites representative of each class in a manner similar to conventional supervised classification. One of the major problems associated with recognition and classifications of pattern from remotely sensed data is the time and cost of developing a set of training sites. This reseach compares the use of an ANN back propagation classification procedure with a conventional supervised maximum likelihood classification procedure using a minimal training set. When using a minimal training set, the neural network is able to provide a land-cover classification superior to the classification derived from the conventional classification procedure. This research is the foundation for developing application parameters for further prototyping of software and hardware implementations for artificial neural networks in satellite image and geographic information processing.

Hepner, George F.↗

DOE OSTI2020

Deep convolutional neural networks for multi-scale time-series classification and application to tokamak disruption prediction using raw, high temporal resolution diagnostic data

In this paper we discuss recent advances in deep convolutional neural networks (CNN) for sequence learning, which allow identifying long-range, multi-scale phenomena in long sequences, such as those found in fusion plasmas. We point out several benefits of these deep CNN architectures, such as not requiring experts such as physicists to hand-craft input data features, the ability to capture longer range dependencies compared to the more common sequence neural networks (recurrent neural networks like long short-term memory (LSTM) networks), and the comparative computational efficiency. We apply this neural network architecture to the popular problem of disruption prediction in fusion energy tokamaks, utilizing raw data from a single diagnostic, the Electron Cyclotron Emission imaging (ECEi) diagnostic from the DIII-D tokamak. Initial results trained on a large ECEi dataset show promise, achieving an F 1 -score of ~91% on individual time-slices using only the ECEi data. This indicates the ECEi diagnostic by itself can be sensitive to a number of pre-disruption markers useful for predicting disruptions on timescales not only for mitigation but also avoidance. Future opportunities for utilizing these deep CNN architectures with fusion data are outlined, including impact of recent upgrades to the ECEi diagnostic.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗

DOE OSTI2025

Adaptive Interface-PINNs (AdaI-PINNs): An Efficient Physics-Informed Neural Networks Framework for Interface Problems

Here, we present an efficient physics-informed neural networks (PINNs) framework, termed Adaptive Interface-PINNs (AdaI-PINNs), to improve the modeling of interface problems with discontinuous coefficients and/or interfacial jumps. This framework is an enhanced version of its predecessor, Interface PINNs or I-PINNs (Sarma et al.; https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cma.2024.117135), which involves domain decomposition and assignment of different predefined activation functions to the neural networks in each subdomain across a sharp interface, while keeping all other parameters of the neural networks identical. In AdaI-PINNs, the activation functions vary solely in their slopes, which are trained along with the other parameters of the neural networks. This makes the AdaI-PINNs framework fully automated without requiring preset activation functions. Comparative studies on one-dimensional, two-dimensional, and three-dimensional benchmark elliptic interface problems reveal that AdaI-PINNs outperform I-PINNs, reducing computational costs by 2-6 times while producing similar or better accuracy.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗

NASA NTRS1997

Linear and nonlinear ARMA model parameter estimation using an artificial neural network

This paper addresses parametric system identification of linear and nonlinear dynamic systems by analysis of the input and output signals. Specifically, we investigate the relationship between estimation of the system using a feedforward neural network model and estimation of the system by use of linear and nonlinear autoregressive moving-average (ARMA) models. By utilizing a neural network model incorporating a polynomial activation function, we show the equivalence of the artificial neural network to the linear and nonlinear ARMA models. We compare the parameterization of the estimated system using the neural network and ARMA approaches by utilizing data generated by means of computer simulations. Specifically, we show that the parameters of a simulated ARMA system can be obtained from the neural network analysis of the simulated data or by conventional least squares ARMA analysis. The feasibility of applying neural networks with polynomial activation functions to the analysis of experimental data is explored by application to measurements of heart rate (HR) and instantaneous lung volume (ILV) fluctuations.

NASA Discipline Regulatory Physiology↗

DOE OSTI2025

Development of systematic uncertainty-aware neural network trainings for binned-likelihood analyses at the LHC

We propose a neural network training method capable of accounting for the effects of systematic variations of the data model in the training process and describe its extension towards neural network multiclass classification. The procedure is evaluated on the realistic case of the measurement of Higgs boson production via gluon fusion and vector boson fusion in the τ τ decay channel at the CMS experiment. The neural network output functions are used to infer the signal strengths for inclusive production of Higgs bosons as well as for their production via gluon fusion and vector boson fusion. We observe improvements of 12 and 16% in the uncertainty in the signal strengths for gluon and vector-boson fusion, respectively, compared with a conventional neural network training based on cross-entropy.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

DOE OSTI2023

Optimized asynchronous training of neural networks using a distributed parameter server with eager updates

A method of training a neural network includes, at a local computing node, receiving remote parameters from a set of one or more remote computing nodes, initiating execution of a forward pass in a local neural network in the local computing node to determine a final output based on the remote parameters, initiating execution of a backward pass in the local neural network to determine updated parameters for the local neural network, and prior to completion of the backward pass, transmitting a subset of the updated parameters to the set of remote computing nodes.

Hamidouche, Khaled↗

DOE OSTI2021

Keras2c: A library for converting Keras neural networks to real-time compatible C

With the growth of machine learning models and neural networks in measurement and control systems comes the need to deploy these models in a way that is compatible with existing systems. Existing options for deploying neural networks either introduce very high latency, require expensive and time consuming work to integrate into existing code bases, or only support a very limited subset of model types. We have therefore developed a new method called Keras2c, which is a simple library for converting Keras/TensorFlow neural network models into real-time compatible C code. It supports a wide range of Keras layers and model types including multidimensional convolutions, recurrent layers, multi-input/output models, and shared layers. Keras2c re-implements the core components of Keras/TensorFlow required for predictive forward passes through neural networks in pure C, relying only on standard library functions considered safe for real-time use. The core functionality consists of ~ 1500 lines of code, making it lightweight and easy to integrate into existing codebases. Keras2c has been successfully tested in experiments and is currently in use on the plasma control system at the DIII-D National Fusion Facility at General Atomics in San Diego.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗

NASA NTRS1994

Hideen Markov Models and Neural Networks for Fault Detection in Dynamic Systems

None given. (From conclusion): Neural networks plus Hidden Markov Models(HMM)can provide excellene detection and false alarm rate performance in fault detection applications. Modified models allow for novelty detection. Also covers some key contributions of neural network model, and application status.

space network↗

DOE OSTI2023

Multiverse: Bayesian model selection for neural networks

Multiverse is a code repository for a set of tools for Bayesian model selection for neural networks. The goal of the tools is to provide capabilities for selecting among prior and model specifications for Bayesian neural networks. Multiverse will include tools for creating Bayesian neural networks, evaluating the Bayesian model evidence, and performing inference in Bayesian neural networks. These components are written in Python, a high-level programming language that takes advantage of the Python ecosystem of high-quality open-source packages for machine learning and signal processing.

Klein, Natalie↗

NASA NTRS1991

Training product unit neural networks with genetic algorithms

The training of product neural networks using genetic algorithms is discussed. Two unusual neural network techniques are combined; product units are employed instead of the traditional summing units and genetic algorithms train the network rather than backpropagation. As an example, a neural netork is trained to calculate the optimum width of transistors in a CMOS switch. It is shown how local minima affect the performance of a genetic algorithm, and one method of overcoming this is presented.

Janson, D. J.↗